Crane and Tower Operators

Most exposed tasks

No task is classified fully automatable in this release. The highest-exposure task relative to this role is shown in the free snapshot above; the assistive work is detailed next.

Augmentable tasks

Work where AI assists rather than replaces — the productivity frontier of this role.

• Weigh bundles, using floor scales, and record weights for company records.50
• Review daily work or delivery schedules to determine orders, sequences of deliveries, or special loading instructions.45
• Inspect bundle packaging for conformance to regulations or customer requirements, and remove and batch packaging tickets.35

Most durable tasks

Lowest exposure — typically judgment, relationships, physical presence, or accountability. This is the human moat.

• Move levers, depress foot pedals, or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, electromagnets, or other moving equipment for lifting, moving, or placing loads.10
• Clean, lubricate, and maintain mechanisms such as cables, pulleys, or grappling devices, making repairs, as necessary.10
• Inspect cables or grappling devices for wear and install or replace cables, as needed.12

Task exposure values and classifications are published, versioned estimates audited against the anchored rubric. This page reads them from the data release rather than generating them at request time. Bars show exposure contribution relative to this role’s task mix.

What this means

A score of 23 puts Crane and Tower Operators in the least-exposed quarter of analyzed occupations. In practice, exposure this level is about the mix: 0 of 11 analyzed tasks lean automatable, 3 augmentable, and 8 durable. The useful question isn’t “will AI take this job” — it’s which tasks go first, which get faster, and where to reposition time. That’s what the personalized report maps against your actual week.

Lower-exposure adjacent roles

Shown only when the target is at least 10 points lower under the same score version and skill overlap is at least 50%. These are adjacent roles with lower task exposure — not guaranteed “safe careers”.

Labor-market context

• $68,080median wage
• 42,890employed
• 3,800annual openings
• +2.8%projected growth

Context only — labor statistics are not inputs to the exposure score. See methodology.

Related roles

Adjacent by skills or family — no exposure claim implied.

• Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators 16
• Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining 15
• Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines 24
• Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators 16
• Riggers 16
• Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining 12

How this score was calculated

FAQ — Crane and Tower Operators

Will AI replace Crane and Tower Operators?

This score cannot predict whether this occupation or any individual job will be replaced. It shows which tasks current and near-term AI can perform or accelerate, which tasks remain more durable, and where a worker can adapt. Employer decisions, demand, regulation, and how the role changes are outside the score.

What does a score of 23 mean for a Crane and Tower Operators?

It means that, weighted across the 11 tasks we analyzed for this role, the task mix sits at 23 on a 0–100 exposure scale — in the least-exposed quarter of analyzed occupations. It measures task exposure to current and near-term AI capabilities, not the probability of losing a job.

Which tasks in this role are most exposed to AI?

This role has no strongly automatable task in the current data release.

Which parts of this job are most durable?

The most durable responsibilities are: Move levers, depress foot pedals, or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, electromagnets, or other moving equipment for lifting, moving, or placing loads; Clean, lubricate, and maintain mechanisms such as cables, pulleys, or grappling devices, making repairs, as necessary; Inspect cables or grappling devices for wear and install or replace cables, as needed. Durable tasks typically depend on judgment, relationships, physical presence, or accountability.

Is this score personalized to me?

No — this page shows the occupation-level baseline. Two people with the same title often do different work. The $9 personalized report recalculates the score from the tasks you actually do and builds a concrete 7/30/90-day plan around them.