What about Lab Certification?

[driller]

This is my first post to the message board. I have been looking for someting like this for a long time. I am not sure if I will be around much. I have been reading all of the posts here and am enjoying what I am reading.

Is this site aimed more at the retailer or is it also for the wholesaler. I haven't seen any lab talks going on or anything even close to laboratory posts. Maybe I am looking in the wrong places.

What about lab certification????

[Steve Machol]

Hi driller! Welcome to OptiBoard!

You're right that there seems to be relatively few lab posts on OptiBoard. I'd like to see that change however. Maybe you can help by coming up with topics like this - Certification for Lab Opticians. In fact, I'm going to spin this off into a separate thread.

Back in the 70s and 80s, the OLA had a very active certification from for Lab Techs called the Certificate of Optical Laboratory Quality Control Technician. I know because I just happen to still have my certificate:



I remember going to an independent testing facility at Arizona State University to take the three hour test. I seem to remember there were also other requirements too, including work experience and letters of recommendation.

Personally I think it's a great idea to have a formal certification program for Labs Techs again!

[Joann Raytar]

Driller,

Welcome to OptiBoard! We would love more posts and responses involving a lab viewpoint. You should hang around; I think Jeff Trail is getting lonely being one of the few wholesale lab gurus. ;)

Steve,

That is a great idea. Many of the exams for the various levels of certification comcetrate on the fitting and dispensing optician not the lab (mechanical) optician.

Having knowledge of not only finishing but surfacing can really benefit people. There is no better way to comprehend how accurate box measurements, cylinder power and axis, seg heights, decentration, prism and etc. affect the final product then by having to actually fabricate the lenses.

Even though the topic hasn't been covered here much there is as much a variance in lab skills as there is in dispensing skills.

[Joann Raytar]

Doesn't the OLA still certify labs themselves? What are the requirements for becoming an OLA Certified Lab?

[MVEYES]

Hi everyone,

A couple years back when the OAA national convention was in Minneapolis they offered a certificate course in finishing lab techniques. I took the course which included an exam at the end. I would like to see more of this type of education and maybe certification through ABO.

Jerry

[driller]

Thanks to all of you for the replies to my post. I think I will actually stay here a while.

Steve, I think there should be a Forum on lab talks. It can be wholesale as well as retail. I have done both and prefer wholesale. People I have spoken to over the years have asked what the difference is. Well comparing wholesale to retail can be a lengthy post in my opinion, because I can come up with numerous differences. I think the biggest and most important difference is the quality, especially if the retail lab is in the one hour business. I have checked many pairs of glasses over the years from people that have had trouble adapting to the new glasses they purchased from a one hour facility. I am not knocking the retailers one bit, but I have seen and heard it for myself when someone would say those nasty three little words "THATS GOOD ENOUGH" the patients waiting. Another major reason to me is the opportunity to work with all of the different lens types, materials as well as manufacturers.

I think there is not enough emphasis on certification for lab opticians. About 10 years ago, there was a large amount of people in my area that went to take the ABO. I got the chance to tutor a few people for the exam and am proud to say that all I tutored passed. Why I never took the test you ask, well I just never did. I was going to take it once but was unable to make it. I was going to go to Dallas to take it, but then was denied the opportuniy, by my boss. I was 25 then and head of QC. I was given some sorry reason, that I shouldn't get certified because it might intimidate some of our accounts. My conclusion on that issue was that she didn't want me to become certified because she had no chance of ever passing that test, but thats another story. So I just never took it. I guess I should have followed up on it and maybe even taken it on my own time and just keep it to myself just as a personal satisfaction. I might just one day, maybe even ABOM.

I am going to contact OLA about the certification program to see what is available these days.

If anyone finds out any info or maybe a website I can go to please let me know....

[Steve Machol]

Originally posted by driller
Steve, I think there should be a Forum on lab talks. It can be wholesale as well as retail.

I've actually been seriously considered this. On the one handm there are people that complain there's already too many forums. On the other hand, more forums can make it easier to find your topic of interest.

Any other lab folk out there that would like us to start a lab Forum?

[driller]

Steve,

I would love to actually have a place to go and talk about my days in the lab. I really enjoy my work and would love to get to know others that do as well. I know I felt a little lost when I furst came to the page.

:cheers:

[MVEYES]

I run a finishing lab at my location. I would love to get tips from you guys.:)

Jerry

[Joann Raytar]

Me too.

I used to work in a full service lab but we just have a finishing lab at the place I am at now. I would hate to get out of touch with the latest toys and procedures.

[driller]

Jerry

If there is anything I can be of help with let me know. I love to talk about the day to day things that go on in my lab. I like speaking about equipment and things that I feel need to be done to better the equipment we have today.

I spoke to a guy today that works for a retailer. I asked him if they run all materials. He told me yes except for glass.

I am not understanding why most people are getting away from glass today. I love to run glass. I know that it can be a little messy, but hey, the spoilage is next to none. I told him that I wouldn't mind running just glass. Give me a couple of 506's, a dual center blocker, 113 generator and a C91 and I will run enough glass for everyone, but hey thats just me. Don't get me wrong, I still love the modern materials of today. I know that glass is not as possible today as it was as yesterday, but there will always be glass to be ground and there will always have to be someone there to do it.

[Joann Raytar]

I am not understanding why most people are getting away from glass today.

No, glass isn't all that hard to run. I used to have no problem with glass when I was running Coburn equipment. I know our current problem is that we have two edgers, an ancient AIT (Mark IV or V - I am experiencing some short term memory loss here) and a National Optronics Horizon II in each of our two stores. The AIT's are starting to give out on us. One isn't too bad but parts on the other one, such as the bevel adjustment lever, are starting to freeze up. We also have a heat oven that has decided it wants to throw sparks all of a sudden. Since I have a habit of shocking myself at inopportune moments, this makes me leary of using it.

It has just become easier to let our wholesale lab run our glass. Plus, they are able to chem temper so I see it as an added bonus.

[MVEYES]

I keep a Mark V as a back up edger in case one of my Essilor 900MX edgers go down. I put an all in one roughing wheel on it to do glass, poly and plastic. I use the scanner with the two 900MX's and so far I am pretty well pleased with the performance. I bought a Nidex blocker from Santinelli. I was having problems with paralax and wanted something to help with those high plus or minus lenses. I still use the metal blocks with leap pads.

Jerry

[MVEYES]

Driller,
As a material, working with glass has a lot less spoilage but when you dispense it the liability is pretty high. We have a lot of Amish folk in out area and photogrey xtra is really popular. I guess we might have a few to many personal liability lawyers in the U.S. ?


Jerry

[Joann Raytar]

... but when you dispense it the liability is pretty high.

Comparing glass to CR-39, does anyone know how much more impact resistant CR-39 is than chem treated glass?

[John R]

Originally posted by driller
Jerry

I am not understanding why most people are getting away from glass today. I love to run glass. I know that it can be a little messy, but hey, the spoilage is next to none. I told him that I wouldn't mind running just glass. Give me a couple of 506's, a dual center blocker, 113 generator and a C91 and I will run enough glass for everyone, but hey thats just me.

After 26 years of Glass what else can i say...:bbg: It would seem that folks are moving away as the "Plastic" materials are getting better at resisting marks, or its just the opticians are pushing it harder
Personally we use a 120 gen and a 2125 gen, not sure about the messy in comparsion in plastic though, do you still use emmery to smooth as we now use diamond pads much cleaner and machine friendly.:D

[Joann Raytar]

we now use diamond pads much cleaner and machine friendly.

OK, now I feel old. You mean they don't use an emery slurry anymore? We used to use the metal pads to protect our laps so we wouldn't have to retrue them so often; do you know how many times I slit my hand getting those stupid things off the laps? They just know how to take the fun out of everything now.

[optigoddess]

Ouch...Jo....I just had a "flash back" to peeling those awful metal pads off of the laps....I have to admit - it's been 5 years or so since I've done it and the feeling is just now returning to my hands! :bbg:

[MVEYES]

Any thougts or ideas on how to edge a small half eye (besides hand edging)? I have a patternless essilor 900mx and it won't cut a B of less than 19 without scrapping the wheel.

Jerry

[John R]

Originally posted by Jo
OK, now I feel old. You mean they don't use an emery slurry anymore?

Yes,( though some still do :hammer: ) what a diffrence to keeping things clean :bbg: Yes Jo, i too still have the scars from the metal foils on the tools and can remember getting as high as a kite when we used evo-stick to glue them down, and trike to clean them up again. Is there any wonder we are all as mad as we are now................

[Johns]

MVEYES:

At least with the amish, you don't have to worry about being be sued.

Johns

[Joann Raytar]

used evo-stick to glue them down,

That's nothing. The drain in the bowl in our backside coater plugged up one day. Whew. I think the fumes would have knocked a horse out in about two seconds flat when we opened the lid to the coating chamber.

Any thougts or ideas on how to edge a small half eye (besides hand edging)? I have a patternless essilor 900mx and it won't cut a B of less than 19 without scrapping the wheel

Jerry,

Is the chuck the part that's hitting?

[driller]

Now that is what I am talking about. I have finally found a place for us lab rats to talk.

John,

Believe it or not. I ran glass for a long time, but have not run it for five years now. I am currently running a newly opened laboratory and having great succes with all of todays modern materials. We are talking about running glass one day soon. I am not sure when that might be, but I am guessing in the next few months we will. I am currently crunching numbers for equipment and will be looking into getting the equipment I listed in my previous post. I have heard about the diamond pads and am planning on using them. I too have many scars on my hands from those old metal finning pads. I cut myself regularly until a pair of pliers became my best friend. I am seriously thinking about purchasing a new set of laps in tenth diopter intervals so I can use my current set of eigths for glass.

Does anyone remember the good old Coburn aerosol surface saver coating. I used to use it to resurface plastic lenses as well. The problem I found with resurfacing lenses especially minus and weak plus powers (thin centers) would produce a distorted or wavy lens. I felt by spraying it, it would reduce the flattening of the front curve during re-taping. As long as my alloy temperature was within working temperature (118-121 degrees farenheit at the spout) I had no problems re-surfacing resin lenses of any kind.

[Joann Raytar]

The only lens that gave us a problem resurfacing was early HIP. Now of course, it is considered mid-index. The reason we usually had to try and re-fine it was because it had given us a hard time and ended up off power the first time around. Of course, we were used to surfacing glass and CR-39 and Poly really hadn't caught on yet; we had a ton to learn about the care you needed to take with those guys as far as blocking and controlling heat build up during surfacing.


driller and John,

Do you guys remember when surfacing blocks still had the prism holes in them and folks actually knew what they were for, I don't remember the official name for the stupid holes though?


driller,

You should keep an eye on the classifieds in Vision Monday. They often list used Coburn surfacing equipment. You can find full lab set ups with 108's and 113's going for good prices.

[driller]

Does anyone remember when there were three pins on a cylinder machine. The center pin was used for spehrical surfacing, allowing the lens to rotate while fining and polishing on the lap. Better have had a perfect sphere lap or guess what the result would be.

You guessed it

WAVE