We reorganized our CE into weekly 30-minute labs on ANSI tolerances and blocker calibration, and our remake rate dropped from 6.7% to 5.5% over eight weeks. How are you structuring CE so skills translate to fewer edging errors and faster throughput — any providers you trust for hands-on lensometry and tracing refreshers?
We cut edging errors most by making “pre-block neutralize” a hard stop with a two-check handoff: blocker confirms sphere/cyl/axis and base curve, then a second tech signs PD/OC before it reaches the edger; it felt slower week one, but remakes dropped and throughput improved. For refreshers, OpticianWorks Pro’s lensometry/tracing drills and printable checklists have been solid for short labs: https://opticianworks.com. Have you tried splitting blocking and edging across two people for the first 20 jobs each day?
In our 30-minute labs, we do a ‘double-trace overlay’ on three tricky frames — trace the same demo twice and overlay the profiles; if the delta’s >0.10 mm, we tweak clamp/stylus pressure until consistent, which cut size-outs and sped up throughput. For hands-on refreshers, I’ve had good results with Santinelli’s on-site clinics and the OpticianWorks lensometry modules at https://opticianworks.com.
Quick win: we do a tracer calibration check twice a day with a steel reference plate and log the delta — if it’s >0.07 mm, we clean the stylus and re‑seat the frame clamp before the next batch, not sexy but it killed our random size drift. For refreshers, Santinelli’s on‑site labs were the most hands‑on we’ve used (https://www.santinelli.com/education), and we added a 10‑minute “lensometry speed round” to keep axis calls tight; @jgreen_72, have you tried a reference plate routine?
Building on @lucinda_g’s overlay idea, we added a 10‑minute ‘first‑piece audit’ at the start of each shift: run one job end‑to‑end, verify OC height vs tilt and bevel choice on a scrap lens — a warm‑up swing — then post a one‑line fix at the edger… It slows the first job a hair but cut surprise chipping and axis drift for us; has anyone tried Zeiss Academy’s hands‑on lensometry labs as a supplement?
We added a quick torque check after blocking: mark 0/180, block with AR pads, then give the lens a firm twist; if it budges, we re-clean and swap pad or bump pressure about 5 psi — cuts axis drift without slowing us down. Anyone tried ZEISS Academy’s hands-on lensometry refreshers? https://www.zeiss.com/vision-care/en/eye-care-professionals/education/zeiss-academy-vision-care.html.
Nice result on those 30‑minute ANSI/blocker labs. We cut edging redos by adding a 5‑minute “lensometer sprint” at shift start — calibrate on a +2.00/−2.00/plano set, then each tech measures three live jobs and calls out prism/axis aloud; if anyone’s >0.12 D or axis >3° off, they re‑seat and repeat, it exposes bad habits fast. For hands‑on refreshers, SECO’s small‑group lensometry lab was useful last year (https://attendseco.com) — have you tried anything like that or are you keeping it in‑house?