Operate a variety of drills such as rotary, churn, and pneumatic to tap sub-surface water and salt deposits, to remove core samples during mineral exploration or soil testing, and to facilitate the use of explosives in mining or construction. May use explosives. Includes horizontal and earth boring machine operators.
30 of 30 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Start, stop, and control drilling speed of machines and insertion of casings into holes.
AI: Fully automatable - Start/stop, drill-speed control and automated casing insertion are well within current automation capability and are implemented in many modern drilling rigs as closed-loop control and mechanized handlers.
Pour water into wells, or pump water or slush into wells to cool drill bits and to remove drillings.
AI: Fully automatable - Controlling pumps and valves to add water or slush for cooling and cuttings removal is routine process control that can be fully automated and regulated by control systems and AI routines.
Regulate air pressure, rotary speed, and downward pressure, according to the type of rock or concrete being drilled.
AI: Fully automatable - Regulating air pressure, rotary speed, and downforce based on rock or concrete type is routinely handled by sensor-driven control algorithms and adaptive drilling systems today.
Operate machines to flush earth cuttings or to blow dust from holes.
AI: Fully automatable - Operating flushing and dust-blowing systems is a straightforward control task that can be fully automated with existing flow and pressure control systems.
Verify depths and alignments of boring positions.
AI: Fully automatable - Verifying depths and alignments is readily automated using modern sensors, encoders, gyro/INS/GPS and survey systems integrated with control software.
Select the appropriate drill for the job, using knowledge of rock or soil conditions.
AI: Fully automatable - Selecting the appropriate drill from geological and soil data is a classification/decision task that AI systems can perform reliably today and are already used as decision-support or automated selection tools.
Record drilling progress and geological data.
AI: Fully automatable - Recording drilling progress and geological data is already highly automatable via connected sensors, telemetry, and logging software that can capture and timestamp parameters without continuous human input.
Design well pumping systems.
AI: Fully automatable - Designing well pumping systems (sizing pumps, piping, controls, and performance simulations) can be largely automated by engineering software and AI optimization tools for standard scenarios.
Observe electronic graph recorders and flow meters that monitor the water used to flush debris from holes.
AI: Fully automatable - Observing and interpreting electronic graph recorders and flow meters is purely data monitoring and analysis, which AI can perform fully, including anomaly detection and automated reporting.
Fabricate well casings.
AI: Partial - Well casing fabrication can be fully automated in controlled manufacturing settings, but on‑site fabrication and custom fitting performed by drill crews remain only partially automatable in typical field operations.
Operate controls to stabilize machines and to position and align drills.
AI: Partial - AI and control systems can autonomously stabilize and precisely position drills in structured or instrumented sites, but unpredictable terrain and complex manual adjustments still typically require human oversight or teleoperation in 2025.
Select and attach drill bits and drill rods, adding more rods as hole depths increase, and changing drill bits as needed.
AI: Partial - Selecting and attaching bits and adding rods can be partially automated with rod-handling systems and auto-changers, but complex or irregular tool changes and unstructured environments still require human technicians.
Drive or guide truck-mounted equipment into position, level and stabilize rigs, and extend telescoping derricks.
AI: Partial - Leveling, stabilizing and extending rig components are often automated, but safely driving or guiding truck-mounted equipment into complex, cluttered, or unprepared sites is only partially automated and commonly needs human intervention.
Create and lay out designs for drill and blast patterns.
AI: Partial - AI can generate drill‑and‑blast layouts and optimize patterns computationally, but final design, safety checks, and regulatory signoffs require human engineers and site‑specific judgment.
Monitor drilling operations, checking gauges and listening to equipment to assess drilling conditions and to determine the need to adjust drilling or alter equipment.
AI: Partial - AI can monitor gauges and analyze acoustic/vibration signals to detect many conditions and recommend adjustments, but nuanced interpretation and decisions in novel or safety-critical scenarios still often require human judgment.
Place and install screens, casings, pumps, and other well fixtures to develop wells.
AI: Partial - Placement and installation of screens, casings, and pumps can be aided by mechanization and guided systems, yet the physically variable installation work and final adjustments still rely on skilled humans in most cases.
Perform routine maintenance and upgrade work on machines and equipment, such as replacing parts, building up drill bits, and lubricating machinery.
AI: Partial - Routine maintenance tasks like lubrication and some part replacements can be automated or assisted by robots, but the variability and manual dexterity required for many repair and upgrade tasks keep full automation limited.
Document geological formations encountered during work.
AI: Partial - AI can analyze sensor logs, photos, and cuttings to generate geological descriptions automatically, but nuanced interpretation of complex or novel formations still requires human geologists and oversight as of 2025.
Operate water-well drilling rigs and other equipment to drill, bore, and dig for water wells or for environmental assessment purposes.
AI: Partial - Automated drilling systems and remote operation exist for some rigs, but fully autonomous operation of water‑well and environmental drilling across diverse field conditions is not yet universally achievable in 2025.
Drive trucks, tractors, or truck-mounted drills to and from work sites.
AI: Partial - Autonomous driving systems handle on‑road transport well and can assist with route planning, but safe, reliable end‑to‑end operation of heavy trucks, tractors, and truck‑mounted drills to varied, unprepared work sites is only partially automated in 2025.
Assemble and position machines, augers, casing pipes, and other equipment, using hand and power tools.
AI: Partial - Robotics and mechanized aids can assist with positioning and repetitive assembly tasks, but the variable, dexterous manual assembly and on‑site problem solving still require human labor in most field conditions.
Retrieve lost equipment from bore holes, using retrieval tools and equipment.
AI: Partial - Retrieving lost equipment from bore holes can be supported by specialized tools and ROVs/robots in some scenarios, but many retrievals remain complex, site‑specific tasks that need human operators and improvisation.
Review client requirements and proposed locations for drilling operations to determine feasibility, and to determine cost estimates.
AI: Partial - AI can analyze client requirements, geospatial data, and cost models to assess feasibility and produce estimates, but field verification, local regulatory judgment, and site-specific uncertainties still require human oversight.
Drill or bore holes in rock for blasting, grouting, anchoring, or building foundations.
AI: Partial - Automated and remote-controlled drilling rigs exist and AI can control them in some contexts, but complex rock conditions, unexpected obstacles, and safety-critical decisions still need human operators and supervision.
Perform pumping tests to assess well performance.
AI: Partial - Pumping tests can be instrumented, controlled, and analyzed automatically by AI systems, but setup, on-site adjustments, and interpretation in unusual cases still require human involvement.
Disinfect, reconstruct, and redevelop contaminated wells and water pumping systems, and clean and disinfect new wells in preparation for use.
AI: Partial - AI can plan disinfection and redevelopment procedures and guide automated equipment, but the physical cleaning, handling of contamination, and on-site quality checks remain largely manual and supervision-dependent.
Signal crane operators to move equipment.
AI: Partial - AI can translate signals, provide remote coordination, or automate crane commands via integrated sensor and comms systems, but real-time signaling in dynamic, safety-critical sites is still commonly human-mediated.
Withdraw drill rods from holes, and extract core samples.
AI: Partial - Automated drilling rigs can retract rods and extract cores in controlled operations, but many field situations and delicate core handling require human intervention and judgment.
Inspect core samples to determine nature of strata, or take samples to laboratories for analysis.
AI: Partial - AI can analyze images and laboratory data to classify strata and interpret core samples, but physical sampling, custody transfer to labs, and certain nuanced geological judgments still need humans.
Retract augers to force discharge dirt from holes.
AI: Partial - Retracting augers to discharge dirt is a machine operation that can be automated in many setups, yet variable ground conditions and on-site adjustments mean human operators remain necessary in many cases.