Learn what it takes to survive an OSHA inspection with this special report provided by The Vision Council.
Employers are getting hit with higher workers’ compensation costs as the insurance industry changes its calculation for the “experience modification factor,” the critical number in the premium calculation formula.
Check out these lens problem solvers that can solve your customer’s problems, too. Find out how to create a problem solver cheat sheet for your customers that will make the process simple and easy.
Find out how the new health care laws can help your small business.
Find out the trends in the optical industry that can have a big impact on your business.
The economy is preparing for a rebound as a new year gets underway. Consumers have trimmed their debt loads and large corporations are creating treasure chests of cash to invest when market uncertainties are resolved. Businesses should take steps now to position themselves for a revival of activity.
Check out the results of lab and ECP surveys on warranties and redos, plus the honest opinions of several ECPs on the subject.
Experienced opticians have graded their lab’s performance. While they gave them an “A for effort” the overall grade was a “B.” Find out some simple suggestions for bringing your grade up to a solid “A.”
Lowering operational costs is imperative to surviving tough economic times. Learn new strategies for saving money in areas you may have overlooked.
Find out how to keep in balance, cut down reordering and save money from inventory expert Rick Tinson.
Get insights into training strategies from both labs and manufacturers.
Take the six-question quiz to find out if you are consumable savvy or consumable naive.
Many labs are taking a “wait-and-see” stance when it comes to the single block system. One lab, however, is willing to be the first to try this industry-changing concept.
Discover the seven principles that drove Steve Jobs’ success.
There are few things more nerve-racking than moving your lab and keeping your customers happy at the same time. Find out how one lab accomplished this daunting task.
Thinking about getting into free-form? Our free-form expert presents the four key components for successful free-form integration.
Relief felt by employers over repeated failed attempts to revive the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) may be premature as employers face new pressures.
Find out who the Top Ten optical laboratory Web sites are for 2011, and what their customers had to say about them.
There have always been advantages and disadvantages to using alloy, but up until recently, optical labs haven’t had many viable alternatives. Find out what’s new in non-alloy blocking material from the experts.
Learn how social media can work for your lab and once you are onboard, what do you say.
There are a number of issues that need to be worked out to enable frame-to-come ordering to liveup to its potential.
Increasing automation is a critical component to crossing the finish line with higher efficiency.
Thinking about hiring an intern to work at your lab? You might want to think again.
Find out why choosing the right LMS system is critical to your success.
Find out who won the Trash to Treasure finishing pad contest and who the top ten web sites are for 2010.
Helpful tips on reducing employee turnover in your lab.
Find out how to get help with the new requirements and how the law helps optometrists, and therefore, the optical laboratory.
Does increased automation really eliminate the need for employees altogether? If not, what’s the ideal relationship between automation and employee resources? How can a lab find the right balance—and get the most out of—both these critical resources?
Learn top strategies from the experts for stretching every dollar AND getting the best results.
Not too far downstream, automation and robotics will comprise a technological life raft that will make all the difference between “sink or swim” for optical labs. Find out what your peers are saying about this technology.
Standards can be a lab’s best friend. Jeff Endres suggests all you have to do is get involved.
Find out how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), will impact your business… for better or worse.
Human Resource Outsourcing: Optimizing Lab Performance and Profitability
How Today’s Manufacturers are Helping You Reach Your Sustainability Goals
Learn top strategies for creating a more eco-friendly and profitable lab, in part 1 of Going Green.
Your peers share some lens processing tricks and general tips for operating an optical lab.
Learn a few key actions that should be taken when assuming any new leadership role.
Nearly 90 percent of bosses think their employees quit to make more money. Nearly 90 percent of bosses are wrong. Find out why employees really leave their jobs.
Learn how today's labs are surviving, even thriving, amidst an economic slump.
In order to help labs become more successful, manufacturers have designed new consumables to give labs an edge, with products that improve profitability.
Learn how your peers are educating their customers to not only improve revenues for their clients but for themselves as well.
Three New York-based optical companies—1-800-OptiSource, Santinelli International and Universal Photonics—offer up five steps to success in a slumping economy.
Focusing on rewarding top achievers gives rise to challenges. Learn how to meet those challenges to ensure you keep your best employees motivated.
How to Retain Your Most Essential Assets
Industry leaders answer your questions on digitally surfaced lenses.
Welcome to our digital panel discussion. This new feature will appear in each issue of LabTalk in 2009.
Learn how to manager your lab for the upside by fostering and managing continuous renewal.
Gas, postage, healthcare, electricity…all these non-optical laboratory specific costs of doing business are going up. Learn how labs are handling “all the little things” that impact their business.
Learn the status of remote ordering and how you can improve your use of this valuable, time-saving process.
The clues to solving a crime are similar to discovering why a certain error is reoccurring in your lab.They both lie in the knowledge of what is constant or "normal" and what is different.
Following up on our article in the October issue of LabTalk, we’re now examining strategies for success and the products that support those strategies.
Industry experts offer advice on everything from process AR to employee turnover rates.
Certified hazard control manager, Roger Hill, presents the basic steps for developing an environmental management system for your lab.
Experienced, dependable, motivated and productive, these are just some of the qualities of the senior worker.
Advancements in rimless eyewear fabrication.
Learn the differences between the old processing techniques and direct surfacing techniques and find out if the new process is actually a better way to make lenses.
Congratulations to Laramy-K Optical for being selected as the Optical Laboratory Web Site of the Year by ECPs. Find out what the judges had to say about the top ten sites and compare your Web site to these industry leaders.
12 tips for selecting and monitoring service providers for your employee benefit plan.
After discussing inventory planning, fill rates and maximizing efficiencies in Part I, Part II will discuss the keys to a successful stockroom including accuracy, efficiency and minimal additional costs.
The proliferation of new lens designs and line extensions mean that labs must make some hard choices about their on-hand inventory. Find out how to save money by effectively managing this resource.
Imagine a world with no lines, highways with no traffic, and your lab without giant stacks of stagnant work trays. It's possible by taking an engineering approach to improving and managing the way trays flow through your building.
Learn the ins and outs of remote ordering and frame tracing from the people who write the software to make it all possible.
Find out the most common mistakes labs make when it comes to consumables and learn tips on how to avoid them.
The strength of a multiple shift operation is the utilization of equipment. But just adding more people isn't always easy. Find out how two labs have added a second shift and are making it work.
Hiring based on fit, creating a familiy-like environment, and empowerment and discretion are the three ingrediants to creating higher profits and reducing turnover.
Processing drill-mounted eyewear requires greater axis accuracy than regular plastic or metal frames. A slight axis twist that could be overlooked or adjusted in other frame types will result in a re-do for drill mounted rimless glasses.
What if we consider the shipping department as the final step in processing any order, as a point of customer service and as a possible profit center? There are opportunities that exist when the shipping department is considered in a new light.
Consider the following "best practices" in use by some of today's leading labs.
Creating a safety eyewear program is easier than you think, creating a win-win situation for the lab and the ECP.
Avoiding accidents and keeping employees safe are the first steps in managing worker's compensation. But accidents can still happen. Learn how to manage a worker's compensation claim effectively after the accident.
As a lab owner, it's your responsibility to protect your employees from injury at work. Learn the steps you should take to protect your employees and your business.
Rimless eyewear used to strike fear into the bravest of lab rat. But today with new materials and equipment, rimless eyewear is chugging along, full steam ahead.
Understanding the right questions to ask will bring you the answers you need for selecting the best lab management software system.
Learn the ins and outs of managing workers' compensation claims and how these claims can impact your business.
Part 1 covered common mistakes made in surfacing a lens. In Part 2, you'll learn how to avoid common mistakes made in the fining and polishing processes.
For the first time in the history of the award, an optical laboratory has won the coveted Transitions Lab of the Year award on two separate occasions.
By taking a closer look at the small and often overlooked areas in your lab, you will discover common mistakes that can easily be avoided and keep your lab out of big trouble.
With independent labs being purchased almost every month, it's wise to study up on steps you can take to make the transition as painless as possible.
Your lab just received an order for a lens with a cylinder in the 17.00 D range. Yikes! Don't freak out. There is a lab that specializes in just this type of thing and they are there to help you.
As large lens manufacturers continue their current acquisition strategies, more and more independent laboratories are faced with tough questions about the future of their business.
By investing energy into doing things right the first time and calibrating your equipment on a regular basis, you can prevent problems before they arise.
Learn how to transform this department and reduce spoilage while improving the quality of the product coming out of your lab.
Like a well-trained investigator, your lab management software is equipped with everything you need to search out problems before they cost you money.
Learn how to keep turnover to a minimum and keep your best employees around for the long haul.
Learn how drilling points can improve your efficiency in the lab, saving you time and money.
How do you motivate your valuable employees to keep coming to work and doing the best job possible? Learn some proven methods to keep your team happy.
Want to know why you lose customers? It's not always about the price. Gain insights on how to keep your accounts happy and loyal by finding out why they leave.
Diversified Ophthalmics talks about their strategies for becoming the 2005 Transitions Optical Lab of the Year.
Lab owners learn valuable tips on how to hire and keep the best people for your lab.
Learn why lab owners often belong to more than one association and how this helps their business grow.
Ever wonder why even with plenty of machines and manpower your output is still hard to predict? If you are still moving trays around by hand, you could be sabotaging your output.
If you aren't selling frames through your lab you are missing the opportunity to increase your sales and offer a valuable service to your clients.
Focus on HR - Learn how to keep good people on the job and create a great place to work.
What's the next BIG idea? From lab owners to vendors, everyone has an opinion on what the next big idea will be for optical laboratories. Check it out!
Cleaning surface blocks keeps the alloy cleaner and creates better adhesion.
Still counting how many lenses you have in stock by hand? Learn some of the advantages of automating this process in your lab.
Learn how to control quality by diligently designing, monitoring and maintaining a manufacturing process based on prevention and not on inspection.
While remote ordering technology has been around since computers, only a small percentage of ECPs are using the technology. Find out the ins and outs of using remote ordering and tracing and what the benefits and downsides can be.
Learn how to put together a complete chemical management program and keep the EPA and OSHA wolves at bay.