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O*NET detailed work activity

Select production input materials

AI can get you up to speed fast and suggest where to look, but you need to confirm findings against real sources, records or people.

Part of Select materials or equipment for operations or projects, under the O*NET work activity group Making Decisions and Solving Problems. Individual tasks below can carry a different label when their own wording calls for it (0 AI-ready, 13 AI-assist, 7 stays human).

Tasks built on this activity

• Select thread, twine, cord, or yarn to be used, and thread needles.AI-assist Sewers, Hand
• Determine types and quantities of glass required to fabricate products.AI-assist Glass Blowers, Molders, Benders, and Finishers
• Select supplies such as fasteners and thread, according to job requirements.AI-assist Sewing Machine Operators
• Select precut fiberglass mats, cloth, and wood-bracing materials as required by projects being assembled.AI-assist Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators
• Select appropriate finishing ingredients such as paint, stain, lacquer, shellac, or varnish, depending on factors such as wood hardness and surface type.AI-assist Furniture Finishers
• Select and acquire metals and gems for designs.AI-assist Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
• Select lumber to be used for patterns.AI-assist Patternmakers, Wood
• Select metals to be used from a range of metals and alloys, based on properties such as hardness or heat tolerance.AI-assist Tool and Die Makers
• Select the proper coolants and lubricants and start their flow.AI-assist Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Select pattern materials such as wood, resin, and fiberglass.AI-assist Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic
• Select coolants and lubricants, and start their flow.AI-assist Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Tasks where it is part of the work

• Determine product specifications and materials, work methods, and machine setup requirements, according to blueprints, oral or written instructions, drawings, or work orders.Stays human Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing
• Select and measure or weigh ingredients, using English or metric measures and balance scales.Stays human Food Batchmakers
• Select and place spools of thread or pre-wound bobbins into shuttles, or onto spindles or loupers of stitching machines.Stays human Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders
• Select and load materials such as workpieces, objects, and machine parts onto equipment used in coiling processes.Stays human Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers
• Select and mix ingredients to prepare coating substances according to specifications, using paddles or mechanical mixers.Stays human Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers
• Select wooden stock, determine layouts, and mark layouts of parts on stock, using precision equipment such as scribers, squares, and protractors.Stays human Model Makers, Wood
• Select saw blades, types or grades of stock, or cutting procedures to be used, according to work orders or supervisors' instructions.AI-assist Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood
• Select materials and patterns, and trace patterns onto materials to be cut out.Stays human Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers
• Specify inputs accessed by the system and plan the distribution and use of the results.AI-assist Computer Systems Analysts