Will loading machine operators be replaced by AI?
Updated
Loading machine operators score 12 of 100 for AI exposure. 89% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 2% today and speed up another 9%.
- 2% AI can do it
- 9% AI helps
- 89% Needs a person
Low exposure
Lower than 93% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 25 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 3 and leaves 21 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Maintain records of materials moved. Record keeping for materials moved is largely digital and routine. | 72% AI can do it |
| Observe and record car numbers, carriers, customers, tonnages, and grades and conditions of material. Recording car numbers and tonnages can be partly digitized. | 45% AI helps |
| Read written instructions or confer with supervisors about schedules and materials to be moved. Reading schedules and instructions is well suited to LLM summaries. | 40% AI helps |
| Measure, weigh, or verify levels of rock, gravel, or other excavated material to prevent equipment overloads. Scale readings and volume checks can be partly automated. | 30% AI helps |
| Monitor loading processes to ensure that materials are loaded according to specifications. Load monitoring is mostly on site, with sensor support. | 18% Needs a person |
| Observe hand signals, grade stakes, or other markings when operating machines. Reading hand signals and ground markings needs live visual judgement. | 10% Needs a person |
| Clean, fuel, service, and perform safety checks on all equipment, and repair and replace parts as necessary. Equipment servicing and safety checks are mostly physical work. | 10% Needs a person |
| Direct other workers to move stakes, place blocks, position anchors or cables, or move materials. Directing crew to place blocks and anchors is physical supervision. | 10% Needs a person |
| Control conveyors that run the entire length of shuttle cars to distribute loads as loading progresses. Controlling conveyors along shuttle cars requires live machine control. | 8% Needs a person |
| Signal workers to move loaded cars. Signaling workers to move cars is live in person coordination. | 8% Needs a person |
Show the other 15 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Drive loaded shuttle cars to ramps and move controls to discharge loads into mine cars or onto conveyors. Driving loaded shuttle cars underground is physical machine operation. | 6% Needs a person |
| Stop gathering arms when cars are full. Stopping gathering arms when cars fill is machine operator control. | 6% Needs a person |
| Advance machines to gather material and convey it into cars. Advancing machines to gather material is live machine operation. | 6% Needs a person |
| Handle high voltage sources and hang electrical cables. Live high voltage cable work needs physical presence on site. | 5% Needs a person |
| Examine roadway and clear obstructions from the path of travel. Checking roadway for hazards and clearing debris is physical. | 5% Needs a person |
| Drive machines into piles of material blasted from working faces. Driving machines into blasted piles requires operator control on site. | 5% Needs a person |
| Operate levers to move conveyor booms or shovels so that mine contents such as coal, rock, and ore can be placed into cars or onto conveyors. Lever control of booms and shovels is physical machine work. | 5% Needs a person |
| Move trailing electrical cables clear of obstructions, using rubber safety gloves. Moving energized cables clear of obstructions is physical work. | 4% Needs a person |
| Replace hydraulic hoses, headlight bulbs, and gathering-arm teeth. Replacing hoses, bulbs and arm teeth is hands on repair. | 4% Needs a person |
| Pry off loose material from roofs and move it into the paths of machines, using crowbars. Prying loose roof rock with crowbars is hazardous manual work. | 3% Needs a person |
| Clean hoppers, and clean spillage from tracks, walks, driveways, and conveyor decking. Cleaning hoppers and spillage is manual physical labor. | 3% Needs a person |
| Oil, lubricate, and adjust conveyors, crushers, and other equipment, using hand tools and lubricating equipment. Oiling and adjusting conveyors with hand tools is physical. | 3% Needs a person |
| Move mine cars into position for loading and unloading, using pinchbars inserted under car wheels to position cars under loading spouts. Positioning cars with pinchbars is heavy physical rail work. | 3% Needs a person |
| Guide and stop cars by switching, applying brakes, or placing scotches, or wooden wedges, between wheels and rails. Braking, switching and scotching cars is physical rail work. | 3% Needs a person |
| Push or ride cars down slopes, or hook cars to cables and control cable drum brakes, to ease cars down inclines. Lowering cars down slopes on cables is dangerous physical work. | 3% Needs a person |
How loading machine operators compare
All occupations (923)
Construction and extraction (61)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $74,500 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 5,930 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- -15.8% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Log material weights in Mine maintenance software
- Build tonnage reports in Microsoft Excel pivot tables
- Read scale readings and volume checks before each load
- Track shift hours in Work time accounting software
- Hold MSHA Part 48 training for underground mine equipment operators
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about loading machine operators and AI
Will AI replace loading machine operators?
Partly. About 1 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly record keeping for materials moved and logging car numbers and tonnages. Running the machine, bracing and braking cars, and reading ground markings stay with people on site.
Which tasks is AI taking over for loading machine operators?
Maintaining records of materials moved scores 72 on exposure and can be automated because the entries are digital and routine. Reading written schedules and instructions from supervisors, scoring 40, suits AI summaries that turn a shift plan into a short list of loads.
Which tasks stay human for loading machine operators?
Prying loose roof rock with crowbars and positioning cars with pinchbars both score 3 on exposure. They need hands on hazardous rock and rail work. Monitoring loads on site, scoring 18, and observing hand signals, scoring 10, also need a person watching the work live.
How can loading machine operators stay valuable as AI takes on records?
Check scale readings and volume checks yourself before each load to prevent overloads. Enter load weights in Mine maintenance software and reconcile them with the sensor data. Learn Microsoft Excel pivot tables for tonnage reports, and be the operator who spots an overload before the scale does.
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