Youve had an in-office lab for years now and youre happy with the results, but all the bells and whistles of newer-generation technology have caught your attention. How do you know whether upgrading your lab will have a positive impact on your practice? There are many variables to consider. Heres how to weigh the benefits vs. the costs of redesigning your in-office optical lab.
Questions, Questions
Ask yourself these questions about renovating your lab: Will it reduce staff time on lab work? Reduce errors on jobs? Reduce inventory value? Reduce the labs footprint? Will it reduce the number of jobs you send out, or the environmental waste it produces?
Says Danville, Calif., optometric business consultant Gary W. Ware: Based on the answers to these questions, the real decision comes down to this: If youre willing to spend X dollars, is renovating your lab the best use of that money?
Adds Annette Juneau, president of Juneau Practice Management Institute, an eye care consulting and training firm in Lake Worth, Fla.: When assessing the true cost of redesigning your in-office optical, you need to assess the cost of the equipment, the cost of materials and the cost of labor to operate the equipment.
Staff is a key element to consider when renovating your in-office optical lab.
Its often difficult to know which equipment is best for your practices needs. Everyone who sells lab equipment will talk about savings, but not about costs, Mr. Ware says. Decide first whether this is a complete renovation or just replacing one piece of gear. Do you want to add a tinting machine or make a clean sweep and redesign the whole area? Obviously, the former is less involved than the latter.
The Big Six Whats New for the Optical Lab Edger, Tracer, Blocker Wrapped Into One Fully Integrated Edging Auto-Centering and 5-D Tracing Drill and Edger in One Unit Expanding Photochromic, Polarized Options
Take these factors into account when youre trying to figure out whether you should upgrade or completely renovate your optical lab:
Your physical plant. If you want to scrap what you have and start over, you may also need to evaluate the electrical, disposal and ventilation systems in your building to be sure they can accommodate the new equipment. If you have problems with ventilation or waste draining into the sewers, you must fix those before even considering a redesign, Mr. Ware says.
Compatibility. Newer lab equipment can save space in your lab by combining multiple features into one machine (see box, below). It can also save staff time by allowing them to complete jobs more efficiently. However, compatibility will be an issue. Consider your inventory of lens blanks. If the machine youre looking at cant finish those lenses, are you willing to walk away from what you have in stock?
Also, look at your practice-management system and other equipment in the optical lab. Buy from a manufacturer that has connectivity among different pieces of equipment so you can link your lab to your practice-management software, for example, Ms. Juneau says.
Volume. Most lab equipment is designed to do a certain volume of jobs on a regular basis, Mr. Ware says. Unless youre doing that volume, its unlikely that these machines will be profitable.
First determine exactly how many jobs your lab does in-office and how many it sends out. If an O.D. doesnt know how many jobs the practice does in-house in a day, a week, a month, a year, he needs to set a benchmark over the next month before making any decisions about the lab, Ms. Juneau says.
And, when you count up those jobs that go the outside lab, determine how many of those could stay in-house with a redesigned optical lab. Some doctors will find that this is not as many as they think because insurance companies like VSP are taking a majority of the orders, Ms. Juneau says.
The Practica system is a 3-D patternless edging system from AIT Industries. It is comprised of two components: the Practica edger and the CNC 3D tracer and blocker.
Practica features continuous three-dimensional mapping and four diamond wheels for all-materials capability. The CNC 3D features a tracer, centering device and blocker all in one. Call 1-800-729-1959, or go to www.aitindustries.com.
Lens Express Edging System (LEXES) from Santinelli Inter-national has fully integrated automated tracing, blocking and edging capabilities. LEXES has what Santinelli calls a super intelligent tracer/blocker that automatically identifies single vision, bifocals and progressive lenses. The Delineation feature allows for the simultaneous processing of multiple jobs.
Santinelli also has a trade-in program for the LE-7070 3D-Fit Patternless Edger toward the purchase of its LE-9000SX edger. Call 1-800-644-3343, or go to www.santinelli.com.
The Axcell CL is a new lens edging system from Briot that offers automatic centering and blocking, a touch screen and 5-D tracing. The Axcell CL tracer-blocker analyzes most single-vision, bifocal and progressive lenses, and identifies the optical center automatically. Call 1-800-292-7468, or go to www.BriotUSA.com.
The WECO 450 Drill & Edge is an edger with a built-in drill for three-piece rimless mounts. It can drill up to four holes or four slots in plastic and hard resin lens materials. The unit also edges all lens materials, grooves rimless lenses and polishes automatically. Call 1-877-872-9326, or go to www.weco-instruments.com.
Super Systems Optical Technologies expanded the lens material options for its Fast Grind system to include Transitions Next Generation lenses, Cornings SunSensors and NuPolar polarized lenses. Call 1-800-543-7376, or go to www.superoptical.com.
One of Mr. Wares clients made sure he would have the volume to make his new lab profitable by setting up a mini-lab service for local O.D.s. This doctor still sends specialized jobs to the outside lab, but the agreement he has with feeder practices allows him to put enough volume through the lab to justify the cost. This can work especially well in rural areas where getting regular lab work is still inefficient.
The learning curve. This can be a significant cost, both in direct dollars the vendor may charge you for training and in material wastage during your staffs learning period. If there are additional costs for training, get them up front and factor that into your equation. If your staff ends up throwing away one lens for every four jobs they do, the lab is not going to be profitable in the long run, so adequate training is of high importance, Mr. Ware says.
Your patients. How will this impact your patients? If youre in an area where patients are concerned with getting their new lenses quickly, faster lab equipment could be to your advantage. If youre releasing a majority of prescriptions to patients to have filled at LensCrafters down the road, renovating your lab could bring some lost prescriptions back into the practice, Mr. Ware says.
And, let your patients know about it. If it will improve the patient experience, i.e., reduce turn-around time on new glasses, reduce noise in the patient area of the office, tell them, Mr. Ware says. Use signage in the optical to promote your lab.
The equipment. Of course, at some point you must factor in the machinery itself. Its always a good idea to talk to colleagues who have purchased the model youre looking to buy. Your wholesale laboratory representative can also tell you about different equipment suppliers. They already know theyre not getting single vision prescriptions from you, so they wont be losing anything, Mr. Ware says of outside labs. Most outside labs wont have the same type of equipment youll be considering, but they can tell you about specific companies level of service.
Also, determine the trade-in or resale value of your existing equipment. If what you have is still worth something, you might want to put an ad in your local optometric societys newsletter and recapture a few dollars, Mr. Ware says. You have to do something with it anyway.
Bringing your lab into the 21st century can save you space, keep prescriptions in your office and streamline staff timemaybe. Answer these questions and evaluate your building, staff, etc., and you can improve your chances of making that upgrade work.
