Dear Opticianry Summit Peoples:

[Barry Santini]

I'd like to suggest a humble addition to your tentative opticianry skill set criteria:

The ability to order *correctly* the "same" Rx/pair of eyeglasses (including uploading a frame tracing, POW measurements and specifying prism, EQ/Rev EQ, base curve and OC position) across 5 five different electronic lens ordering portals.

THIS...IMHO is a newer but essential skill for today's opticians.

(Spoiler: I can't say I've "mastered" it completely yet...and I do it everyday!)


Discussion.

Barry

[optical24/7]

So tell us Barry...You order a lens wrong today...(Something made you think of it! )


I agree. It is a task, learning all the suppliers you use ways of communicating orders. VisionWeb is pretty consistent on portals to different suppliers. But I use a lot of supplier sites direct. Sometimes you have to search the site for the place to put specific info. Keeps you on your toes I guess.

[Wes]

I agree it's a useful skill, but do you think the technology is fully developed and standardized yet in such a way that it could be instituted as part of a program?

[Barry Santini]

I agree it's a useful skill, but do you think the technology is fully developed and standardized yet in such a way that it could be instituted as part of a program?

The point is that it is *not* standardized, and probably won't be unless the VIsion Council steps in and provides leadership in this area.

For electronic ordering, I feel the same type of broad, sweeping standards structure needs to be developed and agreed upon, much like the frame boxing system was 50+ years ago.

And yes, my dear friend, a lens was misordered on the new Seiko portal. Seiko, in their infinite wisdom, didn't see any reason to contact us when we accidentally ordered a pair of uncuts (98% of our jobs are uncuts) paired with a "roll & polish" chosen from the menu drop down instead of the immediately-adjacent "Surpass AR")

Here's my personal ***** list highlites:

1. Vision Web (insufficiently robust and too parochial, depending on the lab's wishes)
2. DVI (reeediculously long navigation trees, but best at ordering redos)
3. Oakley (actually the best of the lot, mainly because its limited to their product only)
4. Digital Eyelab (lack of uploadable frame tracing)
5. Seiko (new portal. Complicated drop down for lend design, no ability to reorder jobs over web/ must be called in)
6. 21st Century (there's nothing intuitive about this one; no tracings)

In the case of the big ones, DVI and Vision Web, thefact that the lens and treatment catalogues are rarely updated, consistent or correct with respect to option pairings I think is nuts. I could, every morning, check the entire site in 1hour for corrected, so why it takes forever to accomplish this when I bring things to the labs or DVI's attention is... You guessed it, Nuts!

Maybe I'm just impatient. But I'll tell you this, a prospective employee certified to handle just about any site encoutered is a Big plus for an employer, both in time, convenience and money terms.

You can't argue with that!

B