operator
Enable an AI agent to recognise an operator assignment, assess readiness to operate a particular apparatus or machine, and determine permitted operating actions.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 18 findings · 28 questions
Operator assignment Establishes who operates what and where that responsibility begins and ends.
Holder and apparatus
Connects the role holder to a bounded operating target.
Apparatus-linked role
Record the agent, target apparatus, and evidence that the relationship involves operation.
- Which agent operates which apparatus, and what activity establishes that it acts as operator? definition
- What assignment record or observed activity supports this operator relationship? provenance
Assignment boundaries
Defines the duration, extent, and specialised meaning of the assignment.
Operating remit
Record covered machines, tasks, times, and interfaces with neighbouring roles or specialised operator models.
- During which period and for which apparatus or subsystem does this assignment apply? boundary
- Which responsibilities belong to this operator, and which belong to a supervisor, owner, maintainer, or specialist operator role? boundary
Control and authority Describes how the operator influences the apparatus and which interventions are permitted.
Control arrangement
Identifies interfaces, feedback, and the allocation of control between agents and automation.
Effective control
Record operating interfaces, observable feedback, and conditions under which control is shared or transferred.
- Through which local, remote, or supervisory interface can the operator change apparatus behaviour? definition
- How is the agent currently holding control identified when automation or several operators are involved? boundary
Permitted interventions
Defines command permissions and decisions requiring additional authority.
Command permission
Record permission for starting, stopping, adjusting, resetting, and changing operating modes, including conditional approvals.
- Which commands may this operator issue independently, and which require supervision or approval? action
- Who granted those permissions, and what evidence establishes their current scope? provenance
Competence and credentials Connects operating demands to demonstrated ability and applicable formal requirements.
Task-specific competence
Examines capability for assigned tasks and operating conditions.
Demonstrated operating ability
Record assessments, relevant experience, apparatus familiarisation, and limitations of the evidence.
- What evidence demonstrates competence for this apparatus, its operating modes, and the assigned tasks? provenance
- How recently was relevant ability assessed or exercised, and against what criteria? measurement
Formal requirements
Separates externally required credentials from employer or site authorisations.
Credential applicability
Record whether a credential is required, its basis, and whether the holder's credential covers the assignment.
- Which jurisdiction, apparatus class, or site rule establishes any qualification, licence, or authorisation requirement? provenance
- Does the verified credential cover this assignment's location, apparatus, tasks, and dates? boundary
Operating readiness Determines whether the operator can undertake the assignment under present conditions.
Assignment preconditions
Checks operator-side prerequisites before taking control.
Readiness evidence
Record applicable readiness checks, required briefings, control access, and unresolved conditions.
- Which operator-side checks must be satisfied before taking control of this apparatus? action
- Which checks are satisfied, restricted, failed, or unassessed, and when were they evaluated? measurement
Supervision and restrictions
Expresses conditions that limit otherwise permitted operation.
Conditional operation
Record supervision dependencies and assignment-specific limits on modes, duration, or working conditions.
- What supervision or assistance must remain available while this operator controls the apparatus? definition
- Which changes in conditions require the operator to pause, seek assistance, or relinquish control? action
Operational continuity and accountability Maintains clear responsibility through handovers, abnormal conditions, and subsequent review.
Handover and relief
Defines how an operator assignment transfers or ends.
Accepted handover
Record outgoing and incoming operators, operating context transferred, and acknowledgement of responsibility.
- What apparatus state, active restrictions, and unresolved issues must the incoming operator receive? action
- What evidence identifies when the outgoing assignment ended and the incoming operator accepted responsibility? provenance
Abnormal operation and review
Connects exceptional conditions and recorded actions to the operator's remit.
Response and action trace
Record response duties, escalation routes, and evidence linking commands to the relevant operator assignment.
- For an abnormal condition, which responses fall within this operator's authority and which require escalation? action
- What records distinguish the operator's commands from automated actions or interventions by another agent? provenance
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of operator this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of operator this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of operator this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of operator this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of operator this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of operator this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of operator this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of operator this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Society, people and institutions
- Entry kind
- noun.person
- Plane
- SOC
- Domain
- SOC.PER
- Facets: substance
- social
- Facets: origin
- conceptual
- Facets: agency
- inert
- Facets: mobility
- not-applicable
- Facets: scale
- not-applicable
- Facets: affordances
- observable
- Other names and narrower kinds
- company operator, elevator girl, elevator man, elevator boy, liftman, elevator operator, ham, hoister, jockey, motorman, manipulator, radio operator
What it is Filled
An operator is an agent occupying the role of controlling or supervising the functioning of an apparatus or machine, whether locally or remotely, with the role distinguished from the agent who holds it.
In scope
- Identification of the role holder, operated apparatus, and assignment boundaries
- Operating tasks, control access, authority, and responsibility
- Competence, qualifications, and any applicable authorisation requirements
- Readiness, supervision, and operating restrictions
- Handover, abnormal-condition response, and operation-related accountability
Out of scope
- The role holder's full personal or organisational identity
- Machine design, component specifications, and maintenance engineering
- Complete employment contracts, recruitment processes, and job advertisements
- Specialist radio operator requirements beyond this general operator model
- Mathematical and image-processing operators, including the Sobel operator
Why it exists Filled
Enable an AI agent to recognise an operator assignment, assess readiness to operate a particular apparatus or machine, and determine permitted operating actions.
Distinguishing features Filled
- The role connects an agent to operating a specified apparatus or machine; the label alone does not establish that relationship.
- Ownership, employment, or managerial authority alone does not establish that an agent operates the apparatus.
- A maintainer or installer holds an operator role only where an assignment also includes operating the apparatus.
- The same agent may hold several operator assignments with different machines, permissions, and readiness states.
- Radio operator is a specialisation of this apparatus-linked role; Sobel operator uses a different meaning of operator.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Take over an operator's role on a machine without authorization or qualification.
- Act on instructions from someone who is not the authorized operator.
- Blame an operator for a fault without evidence.
- Track or rate operators' personal performance beyond what the employer and law allow.
Only with a human decision
- Transferring operating authority over dangerous equipment.
- Overriding an operator's decision in an emergency.
May
- Identify who operates a machine or system from records the agent may consult.
- Hand control and alerts to the responsible operator.
- Keep the role of operator distinct from the owner or keeper.
Moral aspects Filled
- Operators carry responsibility for people's safety, so their authority and accountability must be clear.
- Operators are often blamed for failures that lie with design or management.
Who is affected
- Operators themselves
- People near the machines
- Owners and employers
Owners Filled
Steward
The employer or owner that appoints the operator; licensing authorities certify some roles.
Master systems
- Operator licence and certification registers
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- oewn-00007347-n - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.operator
- Open English WordNet: oewn-10398111-n
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Role holder: Reference to the agent holding the operator assignment
- Assigned apparatus: References to machines, apparatus, or explicitly bounded operating systems
- Operating arrangement: Local control, remote control, supervisory control, mixed, or unresolved
- Operational authority: Permitted commands and decisions linked to their granting authority and conditions
- Assignment status: Proposed, assigned, active, suspended, ended, or unknown
- Competence coverage: Assessed against required apparatus, tasks, modes, and conditions; sufficient, restricted, insufficient, or unknown
- Applicable credential: Credential and issuer references with scope, jurisdiction, validity, and verification status; requirement may be absent or unresolved
- Operating experience: Hours or completed operating cycles, with apparatus type, task, period, and evidence
- Readiness for assignment: Ready, ready with restrictions, not ready, or unassessed
- Supervision arrangement: Supervisor or supervising system, required availability, and intervention conditions
Plane SOC: no invented physical properties.
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
An operator is an assigned role whose authority and responsibilities cannot be established from visual appearance alone.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Match an agent to an apparatus-specific operator assignment using competence and permission evidence.
- Check whether a proposed command falls within the operator's current authority and restrictions.
- Identify missing qualification, familiarisation, supervision, or readiness evidence.
- Prepare and record a transfer of operating responsibility between operators.
- Route abnormal operating conditions to the responsible operator or escalation contact.
- Trace an operating action to the assignment, control arrangement, and authority in effect at the time.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- An operator acting beyond assigned authority or competence can expose people and equipment to unsafe machine behavior.
- Fatigue, distraction or excessive workload can delay recognition of hazardous operating conditions.
- Ambiguous responsibility during handover or shared control can result in conflicting commands or unattended operation.
- Incorrect feedback or loss of communication can leave an operator with an inaccurate understanding of machine state.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, issued by the United Kingdom government, require adequate training for people who use work equipment within their scope.
- Title 29 CFR 1910.178, issued by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration, establishes training and evaluation requirements for powered industrial truck operators within its scope.
Context of use required Filled
- The operator role occurs wherever an assigned agent controls or supervises machinery, including industrial plants, vehicles, laboratories and remote control facilities.
- The role identifies responsibility for monitoring operating conditions, exercising permitted controls and responding to abnormal states.
- Its scope depends on the apparatus, the assignment and the authority granted to the role holder.
Sources Filled
- Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-10398111-n - sense and gloss of the concept
- Wiktionary: operator - word senses and usage
Open questions
- Does the SOC / SOC.PER registry intend operator holders to be individual people only, or also collective and software agents?
- What minimum involvement distinguishes supervisory operation from monitoring, dispatching, or merely using an apparatus?
- Which ISCO, SOC, or ESCO classifications apply to particular operator specialisations, and is any classification appropriate for this broad entry?
- Which apparatus-specific and jurisdiction-specific sources establish credential, supervision, and readiness requirements for concrete assignments?
- Does an existing Vercy world model already cover this operator concept and therefore provide the authoritative publication to link?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-operator/spec.json