US dataswitch to UK
Crane and Tower Operators
determining load weights and checking them against lifting capacities to prevent overload, inspecting cables or grappling devices for wear and installing or replacing cables and directing helpers engaged in placing blocking or outrigging under cranes. If that's your week, this page is about your job.
The honest answer
AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: moving levers, depress foot pedals or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, electromagnets or other moving equipment for lifting, moving or placing loads is work software can't reach.
What shifts is determining load weights and checking them against lifting capacities to prevent overload: the overhead at the edges, not the middle you trained for.
Your week, as this page understands it
Operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move materials, machines, or products in many directions. The job title says “crane” or “tower operators”: officially one job, two names. The real job is the part underneath: moving levers, depress foot pedals or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, electromagnets or other moving equipment for lifting, moving or placing loads. That is the thing someone has to be right about.
The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But crane and tower operators is not one task. It is 11 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is moving levers, depress foot pedals or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, electromagnets or other moving equipment for lifting, moving or placing loads, and the ledger below shows exactly why.
Where the work sits, by task weight
- shifting to AI
- 0%
- changing shape
- 20%
- staying human
- 80%
These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.
Whole-job exposure score 10 out of 100 (8–15 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, across 11 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.
How we know this
What is measured: Every published task statement for crane and tower operators is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.
How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.
Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.
Your job, task by task
These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.
- 3 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
- Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
Shifting to AI
0 tasksTasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.
Nothing in this job’s scored task list landed in this group. That is the measurement, not an editorial choice, and it is worth knowing either way.
Changing shape
2 tasksTasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.
Determining load weights and checking them against lifting capacities to prevent overload
The software now makes the first pass at load weights, but someone has to be answerable for the result, and it cannot be the software. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Determine load weights and check them against lifting capacities to prevent overload.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 42 out of 100 (35–49 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Load charts and weights are published numbers, so the sum is easy to automate even though the operator carries responsibility.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Reviewing daily work or delivery schedules to determine orders
The software now makes the first pass at work, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Review daily work or delivery schedules to determine orders, sequences of deliveries, or special loading instructions.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 56 out of 100 (49–63 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Reading schedules to work out delivery order is planning on paper that software does quickly.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Staying human
9 tasksTasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.
Moving levers, depress foot pedals or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, electromagnets or other moving equipment for lifting, moving or placing loads
This work happens in the physical world: levers, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Move levers, depress foot pedals, or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, electromagnets, or other moving equipment for lifting, moving, or placing loads.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Working the crane controls means sitting in the cab moving the machine.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Inspecting cables or grappling devices for wear and installing or replacing cables
This work happens in the physical world: cables, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Inspect cables or grappling devices for wear and install or replace cables, as needed.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Inspecting and replacing cables is physical work on the crane.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Inspecting and adjusting crane mechanisms or lifting accessories to prevent malfunctions or damage
This work happens in the physical world: crane mechanisms, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Inspect and adjust crane mechanisms or lifting accessories to prevent malfunctions or damage.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Checking and adjusting crane mechanisms is done with hands on the machine.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Cleaning lubricate and maintaining mechanisms, cables, pulleys or grappling devices, making repairs
This work happens in the physical world: lubricate, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Clean, lubricate, and maintain mechanisms such as cables, pulleys, or grappling devices, making repairs, as necessary.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Greasing, cleaning and repairing crane parts is hands-on maintenance.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Loading or unloading bundles from trucks
This work happens in the physical world: bundles, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Load or unload bundles from trucks, or move containers to storage bins, using moving equipment.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Moving bundles and containers with lifting equipment is physical handling.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Directing helpers engaged in placing blocking or outrigging under cranes
This work happens in the physical world: helpers, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Direct helpers engaged in placing blocking or outrigging under cranes.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Directing helpers placing blocking under a crane happens right next to them.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Directing truck drivers backing vehicles into loading bays and cover
This work happens in the physical world: truck drivers backing vehicles, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Direct truck drivers backing vehicles into loading bays and cover, uncover, or secure loads for delivery.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Guiding drivers backing in and securing loads happens on the loading bay.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Weighing bundles, using floor scales and recording weights for company records
This work happens in the physical world: bundles, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 3 · SupplementalSource: “Weigh bundles, using floor scales, and record weights for company records.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 19 out of 100 (12–26 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Weighing needs the bundle on the scale, though recording the weight afterwards is easy to automate.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Show the other 1 task
Inspecting bundle packaging for conformance to regulations or customer requirements
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: bundle, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Inspect bundle packaging for conformance to regulations or customer requirements, and remove and batch packaging tickets.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Checking packaging and pulling tickets means handling the bundles themselves.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
What this job pays, and how many people do it
- Median pay
- $68,080a year, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.bls-oews, 2025 · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
How we know this
Source: bls-oews
Reference period: May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
Rounding: Shown as published.
- People doing this job
- 42,890in the US, 2025.bls-oews · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.
Why this is shifting
The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is reading one thing and writing another: load weights in, a record out. The rows above are exactly that shape: determining load weights and checking them against lifting capacities to prevent overload. What it cannot do is be there in the room, and that is still where levers get done. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.
Your move
Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend
Start with what does not change: moving levers, depress foot pedals or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, electromagnets or other moving equipment for lifting, moving or placing loads is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.
So, given all that: 0% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 20% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 80% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 11 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.
So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. Determining load weights and checking them against lifting capacities to prevent overload is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.
This week: one thing
Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to load weights, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.
- What you end up holding
- a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
- How long it takes
- ten minutes
If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether levers are in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no license needed.
Over the next 90 days
Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near determining load weights and checking them against lifting capacities to prevent overload. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.
Over the next 12 months
On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, use CareerOneStop - Find local training. It is free, it is the Labor Department's own service, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.
The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them
I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.
I checked the 12 nearest US occupations to crane and tower operators (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining: only about 4% of its durable work is work you already do and it pays 15.6% less. And on the numbers you do not need one. This job scores 10/100 here, with only 0% of the task list in the top band, and “move levers, depress foot pedals, or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry…” is not work that hands over cleanly. None of them beats deepening what you already have.
How that was checked: this job was compared against all 830 US occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.
3 moves I checked and rejected
These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already move levers, depress foot pedals, or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers…, and their equivalent is to move levers, depress foot pedals, and turn dials to operate power machinery. Across both published task lists that is about 4% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 4% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. It is a pay cut, in those words: $57,430 against your $68,080, 15.6% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice.
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already load or unload bundles from trucks, or move containers to storage bins, using…, and their equivalent is to move freight, stock, or other materials to and from storage or production areas…. Across both published task lists that is about 2% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 2% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. It is a pay cut, in those words: $40,240 against your $68,080, 40.9% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice.
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already load or unload bundles from trucks, or move containers to storage bins, using…, and their equivalent is to load or unload trucks or help others with loading or unloading, using special…. Across both published task lists that is about 2% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 2% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. It is a pay cut, in those words: $58,640 against your $68,080, 13.9% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice.
What I’d stop worrying about
A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.
The headline number you read somewhere
The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 0% of its task weight, across 11 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.
The headlines about your trade disappearing
They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like moving levers, depress foot pedals or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, electromagnets or other moving equipment for lifting, moving or placing loads arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.
Retraining out of a job that is holding up
On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.
The “obvious” next job everyone suggests
I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.
You are reading the United States figures
The United Kingdom splits this work across more than one official group, of which Crane drivers is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.
Switch to the United Kingdom page →partial match
In UK official statistics this job is counted as Crane drivers. Pay and employment stay on this page’s own group; the task list and the scores do not cross over.
Your route through this
Where to go next, and what it costs
Free, and complete
The moves above cost nothing. These are the real services that go with them: public, government-funded, and free at the point of use. Nothing on this page is behind an email address or a payment.
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Find local training
Search what's running near you, from the Labor Department's own database, before anyone sells you a course.
Free to search; individual programs vary, and some are funded
Anywhere in the US:
An American Job Center will sit down with you for free. Find yours by ZIP code.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Licensed occupations finder
Check what your state actually requires before you pay for anything.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
Free
Why there is no community here
Collab365, who build this site, run paid Spaces for a small number of subjects, and none of them is built for this job. We are not going to point you at the nearest one and call it a fit.
So the free services listed on this page are the whole answer, and it is the same answer we would give a friend.
Noted, and thank you. We’ll email you if a Space for crane / tower operators launches. Nothing else.
That did not look like an email address, so nothing was saved. Have another go below.
We could not save that. The fault is ours, not yours, and your address was not stored. Please try again later.
No deadline on any of this. The page will still be here, and the data is refreshed on a published schedule rather than when someone wants a headline.
Questions people ask about this job
- Will AI replace Crane and Tower Operators?
- Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 11 official task statements scored for Crane and Tower Operators (United States, SOC 53-7021), 0% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 10 out of 100 (range 8–15, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
- Which tasks in “Crane and Tower Operators” can AI already do?
- The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Review daily work or delivery schedules to determine orders, sequences of deliveries, or special loading instructions” (56/100, partial); “Determine load weights and check them against lifting capacities to prevent overload” (42/100, partial); “Weigh bundles, using floor scales, and record weights for company records” (19/100, minimal). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
- Which tasks in “Crane and Tower Operators” stay human?
- About 80% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Inspect bundle packaging for conformance to regulations or customer requirements, and remove and batch packaging tickets” (0/100, minimal); “Direct truck drivers backing vehicles into loading bays and cover, uncover, or secure loads for delivery” (0/100, minimal); “Load or unload bundles from trucks, or move containers to storage bins, using moving equipment” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
- What should someone working in “Crane and Tower Operators” do about AI?
- Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 0% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 80% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
- How is the AI exposure score for Crane and Tower Operators calculated?
- Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 11 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.
Where these numbers come from
Worth knowing about these figures
- The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
- 3 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
- Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
- Task statements
- onet-dbProcessing: catalogue-bridge → onet-im-rt-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
- Task weights
- onet-db (im-rt)
- Scores
- Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-05.
- Pay and employment
- bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))
Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.
The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.
The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.
Using these figures?
Cite this
Everything on this site is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote it, chart it, sell something built on it. Just say where it came from, and cite the dated release rather than the site, so the figure you quote stays checkable.
Plain text
Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).
BibTeX
@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
title = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
author = {{Collab365}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
note = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published . Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.