AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 49-9012.00

Will AI replace Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door?

Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door: AI can already handle 3 of 32 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs an efficient-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 32 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door, from most to least exposed. 3 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Record meter readings and installation data on meter cards, work orders, or field service orders, or enter data into hand-held computers. 90 Estimated Standard 4.0
Vary air pressure flowing into regulators and turn handles to assess functioning of valves and pistons. 65 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Advise customers on proper installation of valves or regulators and related equipment. 60 Estimated Standard 3.4
Clean plant growth, scale, paint, soil, or rust from meter housings, using wire brushes, scrapers, buffers, sandblasters, or cleaning compounds. 50 Estimated Efficient 3.1
Record maintenance information, including test results, material usage, and repairs made. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.1
Install, inspect and test electric meters, relays, and power sources to detect causes of malfunctions and inaccuracies, using hand tools and testing equipment. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.0
Shut off service and notify repair crews when major repairs are required, such as the replacement of underground pipes or wiring. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Install regulators and related equipment such as gas meters, odorization units, and gas pressure telemetering equipment. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Cut seats to receive new orifices, tap inspection ports, and perform other repairs to salvage usable materials, using hand tools and machine tools. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Disassemble and repair mechanical control devices or valves, such as regulators, thermostats, or hydrants, using power tools, hand tools, and cutting torches. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Mount and install meters and other electric equipment such as time clocks, transformers, and circuit breakers, using electricians' hand tools. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.8
Repair electric meters and components, such as transformers and relays, and replace metering devices, dial glasses, and faulty or incorrect wiring, using hand tools. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.8
Repair leaks in valve seats or bellows of automotive heater thermostats, using soft solder, flux, and acetylene torches. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.5
Calibrate instrumentation, such as meters, gauges, and regulators, for pressure, temperature, flow, and level. 15 Estimated No tier 4.0
Test valves and regulators for leaks and accurate temperature and pressure settings, using precision testing equipment. 15 Estimated No tier 4.0
Turn meters on or off to establish or close service. 15 Estimated No tier 4.0
Turn valves to allow measured amounts of air or gas to pass through meters at specified flow rates. 15 Estimated No tier 3.9
Report hazardous field situations and damaged or missing meters. 15 Estimated No tier 3.9
Examine valves or mechanical control device parts for defects, dents, or loose attachments, and mark malfunctioning areas of defective units. 15 Estimated No tier 3.8
Connect regulators to test stands, and turn screw adjustments until gauges indicate that inlet and outlet pressures meet specifications. 15 Estimated No tier 3.8
Investigate instances of illegal tapping into service lines. 15 Estimated No tier 3.8
Trace and tag meters or house lines. 15 Estimated No tier 3.8
Lubricate wearing surfaces of mechanical parts, using oils or other lubricants. 15 Estimated No tier 3.8
Replace defective parts, such as bellows, range springs, and toggle switches, and reassemble units according to blueprints, using cam presses and hand tools. 15 Estimated No tier 3.7
Measure tolerances of assembled and salvageable parts for conformance to standards or specifications, using gauges, micrometers, and calipers. 15 Estimated No tier 3.7
Clean internal compartments and moving parts, using rags and cleaning compounds. 15 Estimated No tier 3.7
Disconnect or remove defective or unauthorized meters, using hand tools. 15 Estimated No tier 3.7
Dismantle meters, and replace or adjust defective parts such as cases, shafts, gears, disks, and recording mechanisms, using soldering irons and hand tools. 15 Estimated No tier 3.7
Attach air hoses to meter inlets, plug outlets, and observe gauges for pressure losses to test internal seams for leaks. 15 Estimated No tier 3.6
Make adjustments to meter components, such as setscrews or timing mechanisms, so that they conform to specifications. 15 Estimated No tier 3.6
Splice and connect cables from meters or current transformers to pull boxes or switchboards, using hand tools. 15 Estimated No tier 3.4
Connect hoses from provers to meter inlets and outlets, and raise prover bells until prover gauges register zero. 15 Estimated No tier 3.1

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 32 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 32 of 32. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.

The model tier this role needs

An efficient-tier model or lower covers 35% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 41% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 59% is hands-on.

Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.

Wages, employment and outlook

US employment
48,240
Median annual wage
$74,340
Middle half of earners
$54,950 to $97,120
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
+1.3%

Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.

Adjacent roles

The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door and AI

Will AI replace Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door?

AI already handles 3 of the 32 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 23 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +1.3% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door?

23 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 32 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 32 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Record meter readings and installation data on meter cards, work orders, or field service orders, or enter data into hand-held computers; Vary air pressure flowing into regulators and turn handles to assess functioning of valves and pistons; Advise customers on proper installation of valves or regulators and related equipment. They are the tasks that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

An efficient-tier model or lower covers 35% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 59% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.

How many people work as Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door, and what do they earn?

48,240 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $74,340 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +1.3% from 2024 to 2034.

How to cite

Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.

JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/control-and-valve-installers-and-repairers-except-mechanical-door

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