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How exposed to AI is a Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blaster?

Of the 30 tasks O*NET lists for explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters, 1 could be done in half the time with a chat window today. 23 cannot be sped up at all. Here is which.

Exposure means published research judged an AI could halve the time a task takes, at the same quality. It does not mean the task stops needing a person. How to read this

Also called
Blast Hole DrillerBlasterExplosive TechnicianPowdermanUnexploded Ordnance Quality Control Officer
Reachable today Needs software built first Cannot be sped up
30
tasks rated for this occupation
0%
hold a degree, from a survey of 24
5k
people do this job in the US
8 of 61
least protected in construction

Every task, and what AI can do with it

These are O*NET's task statements for this occupation, exactly as written, sorted into the three bands by the ratings behind this report. Nothing has been reworded.

Reachable with a chat window today

1
  • Set up and operate short-wave radio or field telephone equipment to transmit and receive blast information

Only with software built on top

6
  • Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed
  • Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws
  • Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts
  • Create and lay out designs for drill and blast patterns
  • Document geological formations encountered during work
  • Signal crane operators to move equipment

Cannot be sped up

23
  • Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions
  • Place safety cones around blast areas to alert other workers of danger zones, and signal workers as necessary to ensure that they clear blast sites prior to explosions
  • Place explosive charges in holes or other spots; then detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials
  • Insert, pack, and pour explosives, such as dynamite, ammonium nitrate, black powder, or slurries into blast holes; then shovel drill cuttings, admit water into boreholes, and tamp material to compact charges
  • Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions
  • Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures
  • Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material
  • Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns
  • Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives
  • Move and store inventories of explosives, loaded perforating guns, and other materials, according to established safety procedures
  • Light fuses, drop detonating devices into wells or boreholes, or activate firing devices with plungers, dials, or buttons, in order to set off single or multiple blasts
  • Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites
  • Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends
  • Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary
  • Repair and service blasting, shooting, and automotive equipment, and electrical wiring and instruments, using hand tools
  • Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place
  • Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports
  • Connect gun chambers to electric detonating devices, and operate controls at panelboards, in order to detonate charges in guns or to ignite chemical charges
  • Lower perforating guns into wells, using hoists; then use measuring devices and instrument panels to position guns in correct positions for taking samples
  • Insert powder charges into chambers of sidewall sample-taking cylinders, and assemble cylinders, using special wrenches
  • Obtain samples of earth from sidewalls of well boreholes, using electrically exploding devices
  • Operate machines to flush earth cuttings or to blow dust from holes
  • Set up and operate equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, and drills, in order to bore charge holes
What this does not say

This is not a prediction about your job

Nobody surveyed an employer. Tasks are counted equally, so a percentage here is a share of the list rather than a share of your week. And the ratings were made in 2023, which makes every figure a floor rather than a ceiling.

It must never be used to select anyone for redundancy. The full limits are here.

Where to go next

This is the standard task list for the title. The useful next question is which of the tasks you actually do should go near AI, and which should not.

Sort your own tasks Read the full report

Exposure ratings from Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs, Science 384, 1306–1308, 2024, used under the MIT licence. This page includes information from the O*NET Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. People Team AI has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Employment figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.