Consistent quality control and immediate customer service are just two of the reasons that practices were urged to look at taking their glazing in-house at 100% Optical.
The OSA’s manufacturing lecture saw Alex Gordon, Mainline Optical Connections Business Development Manager, reassure practice owners that glazing in-house is not a daunting idea –
“There is a certain amount of mystique but there doesn’t need to be. It is quite a simple process with modern technology. If you are tracing and assembling frames you are actually doing quite a lot of the job already. Some in-house labs will look after their own single vision lenses but are not committed to glazing multifocals and rimless models, but correct measuring is half the job already completed. If you ensure that the axis and PDs are correct it can all be done by machine,” he said.
Alex emphasised how lens processing can be built into quiet periods of the day, with more than one member of the team taking on the role –
“Surfacing takes on average of seven minutes per pair of spectacles on some machines and can happen while you might be doing pre-tests or the dispense for another patient. Upskilling the team improves morale and team retention. We all like to learn new aspects of our job. It makes people feel valued in having new skillsets. Customers appreciate the craftsmanship and it fosters trust and engenders loyalty with a more diversified practice offering.”
Questions of mess and waste management were addressed and Alex explained how modern filtration systems addressed the historic issues of microplastics entering the water supply and that the footprint of modern devices is a lot less than many people expect.
Mainline Optical Solutions is one of several OSA member companies which offers various options and provides training, plus a Whatsapp group for users of the same technology –
“This has proved to be a terrific hit as if there is ever an issue one of the Mainline team or another practice can offer immediate help,” he added.