Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
Production Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 51-9111.00
Operate or tend machines to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage or shipment. Includes cannery workers who pack food products.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
Low· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.000
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.22
0.09Range of values carried here0.70Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
Task-level exposure
20 rated tasks · 0 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (0.0%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- All rated tasks are in the O*NET 31.0 task list.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Observe machine operations to ensure quality and conformity of filled or packaged products to standards.O*NET Task ID 3124 | 0.0 |
Adjust machine components and machine tension and pressure according to size or processing angle of product.O*NET Task ID 3125 | 0.0 |
Tend or operate machine that packages product.O*NET Task ID 3126 | 0.0 |
Remove finished packaged items from machine and separate rejected items.O*NET Task ID 3127 | 0.0 |
Regulate machine flow, speed, or temperature.O*NET Task ID 3128 | 0.0 |
Stop or reset machines when malfunctions occur, clear machine jams, and report malfunctions to a supervisor.O*NET Task ID 3129 | 0.0 |
Secure finished packaged items by hand tying, sewing, gluing, stapling, or attaching fastener.O*NET Task ID 3130 | 0.0 |
Stock and sort product for packaging or filling machine operation, and replenish packaging supplies, such as wrapping paper, plastic sheet, boxes, cartons, glue, ink, or labels.O*NET Task ID 3131 | 0.0 |
Inspect and remove defective products and packaging material.O*NET Task ID 3132 | 0.0 |
Clean and remove damaged or otherwise inferior materials to prepare raw products for processing.O*NET Task ID 3133 | 0.0 |
Sort, grade, weigh, and inspect products, verifying and adjusting product weight or measurement to meet specifications.O*NET Task ID 3134 | 0.0 |
Clean, oil, and make minor adjustments or repairs to machinery and equipment, such as opening valves or setting guides.O*NET Task ID 3135 | 0.0 |
Monitor the production line, watching for problems such as pile-ups, jams, or glue that isn't sticking properly.O*NET Task ID 3136 | 0.0 |
Stack finished packaged items, or wrap protective material around each item, and pack the items in cartons or containers.O*NET Task ID 3137 | 0.0 |
Start machine by engaging controls.O*NET Task ID 3138 | 0.0 |
Count and record finished and rejected packaged items.O*NET Task ID 3139 | 0.0 |
Package the product in the form in which it will be sent out, for example, filling bags with flour from a chute or spout.O*NET Task ID 3140 | 0.0 |
Supply materials to spindles, conveyors, hoppers, or other feeding devices and unload packaged product.O*NET Task ID 3141 | 0.0 |
Attach identification labels to finished packaged items, or cut stencils and stencil information on containers, such as lot numbers or shipping destinations.O*NET Task ID 3142 | 0.0 |
Clean packaging containers, line and pad crates, or assemble cartons to prepare for product packing.O*NET Task ID 3143 | 0.0 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (20)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Observe machine operations to ensure quality and conformity of filled or packaged products to standards. | Core |
| Adjust machine components and machine tension and pressure according to size or processing angle of product. | Core |
| Tend or operate machine that packages product. | Core |
| Remove finished packaged items from machine and separate rejected items. | Core |
| Regulate machine flow, speed, or temperature. | Core |
| Stop or reset machines when malfunctions occur, clear machine jams, and report malfunctions to a supervisor. | Core |
| Secure finished packaged items by hand tying, sewing, gluing, stapling, or attaching fastener. | Core |
| Stock and sort product for packaging or filling machine operation, and replenish packaging supplies, such as wrapping paper, plastic sheet, boxes, cartons, glue, ink, or labels. | Core |
| Inspect and remove defective products and packaging material. | Core |
| Clean and remove damaged or otherwise inferior materials to prepare raw products for processing. | Core |
| Sort, grade, weigh, and inspect products, verifying and adjusting product weight or measurement to meet specifications. | Core |
| Clean, oil, and make minor adjustments or repairs to machinery and equipment, such as opening valves or setting guides. | Core |
| Monitor the production line, watching for problems such as pile-ups, jams, or glue that isn't sticking properly. | Core |
| Stack finished packaged items, or wrap protective material around each item, and pack the items in cartons or containers. | Core |
| Start machine by engaging controls. | Core |
| Count and record finished and rejected packaged items. | Core |
| Package the product in the form in which it will be sent out, for example, filling bags with flour from a chute or spout. | Core |
| Supply materials to spindles, conveyors, hoppers, or other feeding devices and unload packaged product. | Core |
| Attach identification labels to finished packaged items, or cut stencils and stencil information on containers, such as lot numbers or shipping destinations. | Core |
| Clean packaging containers, line and pad crates, or assemble cartons to prepare for product packing. | Core |
0.99/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
Robot environment tiers (E0–E3)
E0 noneDetails
Rated not doable by robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated, even in a purpose-built setting
E1 purpose-built robot settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting built around the machine, such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line
E2 structured facilitiesDetails
Rated doable in a human work facility that an institution keeps to a working standard, such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port
E3 unstructured settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting that no institution keeps to a working standard, such as a private home or a construction site
Only tasks classified as physical are listed; other tasks have no tier in the source.
| Task (O*NET 29.3) | Robot environment tier |
|---|---|
| Observe machine operations to ensure quality and conformity of filled or packaged products to standards. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Adjust machine components and machine tension and pressure according to size or processing angle of product. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Tend or operate machine that packages product. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Remove finished packaged items from machine and separate rejected items. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Regulate machine flow, speed, or temperature. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Stop or reset machines when malfunctions occur, clear machine jams, and report malfunctions to a supervisor. | E0 none |
| Secure finished packaged items by hand tying, sewing, gluing, stapling, or attaching fastener. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Stock and sort product for packaging or filling machine operation, and replenish packaging supplies, such as wrapping paper, plastic sheet, boxes, cartons, glue, ink, or labels. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Inspect and remove defective products and packaging material. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Clean and remove damaged or otherwise inferior materials to prepare raw products for processing. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Sort, grade, weigh, and inspect products, verifying and adjusting product weight or measurement to meet specifications. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Clean, oil, and make minor adjustments or repairs to machinery and equipment, such as opening valves or setting guides. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Monitor the production line, watching for problems such as pile-ups, jams, or glue that isn't sticking properly. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Stack finished packaged items, or wrap protective material around each item, and pack the items in cartons or containers. | E2 structured facilities |
| Start machine by engaging controls. | E2 structured facilities |
| Package the product in the form in which it will be sent out, for example, filling bags with flour from a chute or spout. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Supply materials to spindles, conveyors, hoppers, or other feeding devices and unload packaged product. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Attach identification labels to finished packaged items, or cut stencils and stencil information on containers, such as lot numbers or shipping destinations. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Clean packaging containers, line and pad crates, or assemble cartons to prepare for product packing. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
- Employment, 2025
- 378K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 393K
- Change (2025–35)
- +4.1%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $43,220
- Typical education needed for entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 89901 | 주입·포장 및 봉함기 조작원 | Same scope | confirmed |
| 89902 | 상표 부착기 조작원 | Overlapping, not the same | confirmed |
| 83211 | 약제품 생산기 조작원 | Related, not a match | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 8183Packing, Bottling and Labelling Machine Operators
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- canning and bottling line operatorESCO 8183.1This occupation is broader
Canning and bottling line operators observe bottles and cans passing by during the production process. They stand next to conveyors belts to ensure that bottles are filled to standard levels that there are no major deviations. They discard defective bottles or cans.
- leather goods packing operatorESCO 8183.6This occupation is broader
Leather goods packing operators perform the final revision of the leather goods products. They apply accessories such as the handles, padlocks, or other features of the product (e.g. labels). They introduce products in textile sacs if applicable, fill them with paper to maintain the product's shape and then place products in boxes using adequate tools for products' protection. They are in charge of general packaging, and checking the completion of each order by getting the boxes into the parcels and preparing the documentation for expedition by the transport agency.
- packaging and filling machine operatorESCO 8183.7This occupation is broader
Packaging and filling machine operators tend machines for preparing and packing food products in various packaging containers such as jars, cartons, cans, and others.
- capsule filling machine operatorESCO 8131.1Overlapping, not the same
Capsule filling machine operators control the filling of gelatine capsules with the specific medicinal preparations.
- food production operatorESCO 8160.34Overlapping, not the same
Food production operators supply and perform one or more tasks in different stages of the food production process. They perform manufacturing operations and processes to foods and beverages, perform packaging, operate machines manually or automatically, follow predetermined procedures, and take food safety regulations on board.
- heat sealing machine operatorESCO 8183.5Overlapping, not the same
Heat sealing machine operators operate sealing and gluing machines to join items together for further processing or to seal products or packages, using heat.
- sauce production operatorESCO 8160.49Overlapping, not the same
Sauce production operators process, produce and manufacture sauces made from fruits, vegetables, oils and vinegars. They operate machinery and equipment for activities such as mixing, pasteurising and packaging sauces.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| H3301 | Conducteur / Conductrice de ligne de conditionnement | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| H3305 | Conducteur / Conductrice de machines de conditionnement | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| H2105 | Agent / Agente de production en industrie alimentaire | Related, not a matchprovisional |
| H3304 | Chef / Cheffe de ligne conditionnement | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 8193 | Operadores de máquinas de embalaje, embotellamiento y etiquetado | Same scope |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 29201 | Berufe in der Lebensmittelherstellung (ohne Spezialisierung) - Helfer-/Anlerntätigkeiten | Related, not a match |
| 51311 | Berufe in der Lagerwirtschaft - Helfer-/Anlerntätigkeiten | Related, not a match |
| 29102 | Berufe in der Getränkeherstellung (ohne Spezialisierung) - fachlich ausgerichtete Tätigkeiten | Related, not a matchprovisional |
| 29122 | Weinküfer/innen - fachlich ausgerichtete Tätigkeiten | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 721 | 包装従事者 | This occupation is narrower |
| 533 | 食料品製造従事者 | Related, not a match |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources