How to Run an Efficient Lab
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Outside, it was a sunny
day. White clouds were slowly inching across the blue sky. Inside, the office was running like a well-oiled machine. Patients were coming and going by ones and twos. There were routine exams, complicated exams, and walk-ins.
Each patient was being handled. Complex eyeglass orders were placed aside, to be ordered when things settled down to a simmer. For now, rush jobs were the priority. Red trays entered and left the in-house lab smoothly and easily. The staff was not so much hurrying as buzzing. It looked kind of effortless.
From the front, a patient began to raise his raise his voice. “If I’d known this, I wouldn’t have waited,” said the man as he motioned with his hands and placed them on his hips. Soon, the office manager and the patient were talking. The manager nodded his head repeatedly, and the patient crossed his arms. Following some activity at the back, a red tray briefly left the lab, was scrutinized, and went back in. Apparently it had been forgotten, or promised, or delayed, depending on whom you asked.
Do promise jobs clearly
This is what went wrong at the top of the story. The smooth flow of the day was interrupted in a screech. It wasn’t laziness, carelessness, or forgetfulness, but inconsistency. For example, if your lab staff agrees to edge the job “by three o’clock,” don’t tell the patient, “any time this afternoon.”
Do ask
It’s always much more effective to ask your lab staff what they can do. Asking gives you an opportunity to say what you need, and gives the lab an opportunity to tell you what they can do (which puts them on the hook). Take a page from reception policy: when doctors take emergency walk-ins, it puts everyone behind, so reception lets the next patients know there will be a longer than usual wait. Ask the lab if they are on schedule. Sometimes, you’ll receive finished jobs sooner than expected. Other times, there may be many incoming jobs or an emergency job. Always find out what to expect for turn around times.
Do under-promise and over-deliver
The law of the lab is to under-promise and over-deliver. The first prerequisite for working in the lab is comfort in a place of shifting priorities. Jobs flow in a random pattern. In constant change, “under- promise and over- deliver” is the only constant. It has avoided and resolved countless problems. (The other law of the lab is Murphy’s Law, but that’s another story.)
Do let the lab own the tray
Once you deliver a tray to the lab, let them own it. I once observed a dispenser taking a frame out of the tracer to copy frame numbers and colors. Although those lenses weren’t being edged at that moment, the frame was “on deck,” and moving it fouled up the lab’s system. Don’t bring it to the lab until you’re ready to let them own it. Forcing incomplete trays into the lab doesn’t really speed them up.
Follow the protocol
There’s an after hours rush job. It might seem like a time saver to scribble axes on the lens envelopes, and throw them in the tray. But ask yourself how much time this really saves. Now consider how many mistakes could result from going about things half cocked. Doctors don’t write their charts on scraps, and appointments aren’t scheduled on scrap paper. Your office already has a protocol for doing things, and it was established to promote efficiency. Follow it 100% of the time.
Do be complete
Everything is signed, dated, and all fields are completed? Being complete is not only professional; it makes your edging request carry more weight. Incomplete orders can be a big problem. Material, frame, PD, segment heights, and AR all need to be clear. Rush jobs are for busy time, and that’s the worst time to try to track down a busy dispenser to get a measurement, or to figure out why the invoice says 1.67, when polycarbonate lenses are in the tray. (see below)
Do show
A co-worker stood out. He brought trays to me and would pause and say, “Here are your frame and lenses. How soon can I have them made?” He approached me this way every single time, whether the office was busy or slow. Don’t dismiss this formality. It gave us a helpful moment to look at the materials (frame and lenses). Cut out problems were avoided, remakes were reduced, thick enough lenses were ordered for grooving, and wrap optics were improved. (Thanks, Erik.)
Incorporate this policy if you don’t already. Your lab will appreciate it, and will be able to promise more accurately, maybe even quicker. It’s truly a win-win.
Don’t cry wolf
Finding out that hour job you asked for wasn’t really needed right away can be discouraging to your lab staff. You want them to take your rush requests seriously, so pick and choose your rush jobs, and can be firm the next time you need something pronto.
Do assist
If you are able to pitch in without disrupting the flow, the next time you have some down time, see if you can spot some incoming lenses, and verify a few finished jobs. Sometimes a little help with even a few jobs makes all the difference in the world to a maxed-out lab. The key here is to not disrupt the flow out back or the coverage out front.
Don’t jump the gun
It’s true that good customer service means exceeding customer expectations. But is it really necessary for each job to be an hour job, or might it be wiser to evaluate each situation? There’s an art to exceeding customer expectations on one hand, and under-promising on the other. It usually is possible to keep all parties happy. The key is not responding automatically. Glasses needed by the end of the week? Maybe you can promise them for tomorrow. If they want them tomorrow, consider promising for later on today. Patient needs them today? Wow them with one-hour service.
Don’t assume
Trays seem to be piling up in the lab? Maybe they’re standing still because other trays are moving out. Your lab staff is aware, too. Edgers only grind one lens at a time. In order to edge any job, other jobs have to wait. It only makes sense. The lab is up to their elbows in work, and won’t be able to get your rush job done quickly? Maybe they are prioritizing, and are letting non-rush jobs pile up. When we are all busy, it can be hard to read our co-workers, so it’s important to not assume.
Do appreciate
Lab staffers are there because they like what they do. They crave challenges and thrive on multi-tasking. They want to get the highest priority jobs finished and approved the soonest. Your lab staff likes challenges. The best challenges usually are those giving the best optics with the least compromise.
Show interest
Be considerate. Instead of saying “I only want to know if a standard lens will work,” listen to your lab staff’s suggestion of the proper way to do things. Otherwise, you are sending the message that you just want to get through things. The lab wants to help when a lens is problematic and falls out of the frame. This is why they suggest the right material choice, such as aspheric high index for high plus. Lab staffers have a hands-on appreciation for lens form, and thickness. You might not be able to take their suggestion every time, but it’s important to hear reasonable advice. Polycarbonate lenses might be best for a particular grooved job to avoid chips, flat high index lenses might be incompatible with a curved frame, and a thicker frame might cover lens thickness and conceal the effects of prism in the Rx. You can take lab tips like these and turn them into dispensing tips in the future, so don’t dismiss them.
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