Metal production process controllers
An AI agent can at least partly carry out 21.5% of the task time of metal production process controllers, and finish 0.0% alone. The barrier that holds most of the rest back is access to the systems the work runs on.
289th of 433 · interval 0.0–43.5
201st of 433 · interval 0.0–0.0
320th of 433 · interval 10.2–30.2
task statements rated by two models and weighted by importance and frequency. World employment: 0.2 million.
How the tasks rate
What stops the agent
Share of task weight flagged by each barrier; a task can carry several.
| Task statement (O*NET occupation) | Weight | Level | Sonnet · Haiku | Share | Human time | Barriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record production data, and maintain production logs.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders | 7.9% | L2 | L2L2 | 62% | 20 min | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Regulate supplies of fuel and air, or control flow of electric current and water coolant to heat furnaces and adjust temperatures.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders | 7.7% | L1 | L1L2 | 28% | 30 min | Physical presence, Access to systems |
| Observe air and temperature gauges or metal color and fluidity, and turn fuel valves or adjust controls to maintain required temperatures.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders | 7.6% | L1 | L1L1 | 20% | 25 min | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Draw smelted metal samples from furnaces or kettles for analysis, and calculate types and amounts of materials needed to ensure that materials meet specifications.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders | 7.3% | L2 | L2L2 | 38% | 38 min | Physical presence, Access to systems |
| Weigh materials to be charged into furnaces, using scales.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders | 7.3% | L0 | L1L0 | 8% | 18 min | Physical presence, Access to systems |
| Operate controls to move or discharge metal workpieces from furnaces.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders | 7.1% | L1 | L1L1 | 10% | 15 min | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Drain, transfer, or remove molten metal from furnaces, and place it into molds, using hoists, pumps, or ladles.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders | 7.0% | L0 | L0L1 | 8% | 45 min | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Prepare material to load into furnaces, including cleaning, crushing, or applying chemicals, by using crushing machines, shovels, rakes, or sprayers.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders · supplemental task | 6.9% | L0 | L0L0 | 4% | 52 min | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Kindle fires, and shovel fuel and other materials into furnaces or onto conveyors by hand, with hoists, or by directing crane operators.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders | 6.7% | L0 | L0L0 | 3% | 40 min | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Inspect furnaces and equipment to locate defects and wear.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders | 6.4% | L1 | L1L1 | 18% | 45 min | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Observe operations inside furnaces, using television screens, to ensure that problems do not occur.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders · supplemental task | 6.3% | L2 | L2L2 | 58% | 4.2 h | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Remove impurities from the surface of molten metal, using strainers.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders · supplemental task | 6.3% | L0 | L0L0 | 2% | 12 min | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Sprinkle chemicals over molten metal to bring impurities to the surface.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders · supplemental task | 5.7% | L0 | L0L0 | 4% | 15 min | Physical presence, Accountability, Access to systems |
| Scrape accumulations of metal oxides from floors, molds, and crucibles, and sift and store them for reclamation.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders · supplemental task | 5.1% | L0 | L0L0 | 4% | 52 min | Physical presence, Access to systems |
| Direct work crews in the cleaning and repair of furnace walls and flooring.Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders · supplemental task | 4.6% | L0 | L0L2 | 16% | 2.0 h | Physical presence, Accountability, Trust and care, Access to systems |
Level: consensus of the two models (the lower level when they disagree). Share: part of the task’s working time an agent could take over. Human time: minutes a competent person needs for one instance, as estimated by the models.
Exposure is not delegation
| Measure | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| ADI (this index) | 21.5% | 33 |
| Eloundou et al. (2024), GPT exposure β | 0.11 | 20 |
| Felten et al. (2021), AI occupational exposure | -1.167 | 13 |
| Webb (2020), AI patent exposure | 54 | 46 |
| Eisfeldt et al. (2026), generative AI exposure | 0 | 4 |
| Anthropic Economic Index, observed use | 0 | 16 |
Earlier indices measure whether AI can touch a task; ADI measures how much of it an agent can carry out from a goal. – : the source does not cover this occupation.
Neighbouring occupations
| Occupation | ADI | % |
|---|---|---|
| Process control technicians not elsewhere classified 3139 | 91.1 | |
| Draughtspersons 3118 | 82.3 | |
| Mining supervisors 3121 | 71.6 | |
| Construction supervisors 3123 | 71.6 | |
| Chemical and physical science technicians 3111 | 69.7 | |
| Electronics engineering technicians 3114 | 60.2 | |
| Civil engineering technicians 3112 | 57.6 | |
| Manufacturing supervisors 3122 | 56.5 | |
| Air traffic safety electronics technicians 3155 | 54.7 | |
| Mining and metallurgical technicians 3117 | 51.5 | |
| Physical and engineering science technicians not elsewhere classified 3119 | 51.1 | |
| Mechanical engineering technicians 3115 | 50.0 |
Dashed line: metal production process controllers (21.5%).
Espinal Maya, Cristian, and Santiago Jiménez Londoño. 2026. ADI v2026.1: Agent Delegability Index data, code and MCP server. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23552918. Record: Metal production process controllers (ISCO-08 3135), https://balamlabs.org/adi/occupations/3135
@misc{espinal2026adidata,
title = {{ADI} v2026.1: Agent Delegability Index data, code and {MCP} server},
author = {Espinal Maya, Cristian and Jim{\'e}nez Londo{\~n}o, Santiago},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Zenodo},
version = {v2026.1},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.23552918},
url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23552918},
note = {Record: Metal production process controllers (ISCO-08 3135)}
}The same record as static JSON, with its citation: /adi/v2026.1/isco/3135.json.