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FINISHING PROFITS 8 march 2015 opticallabproducts.com How Do You Improve Profts in Finishing? BY STEVEN WARFIELD Making sure every penny counts is a surefire way to stay in business. Here are some strategies you may want to adopt to make your lab more profitable. GETTING THAT perfectly fnished job out the door is the biggest challenge facing any lab business. In the optical lab that task is largely dependent on the fnish- ing department which is frequently where most of a lab's breakage and spoilage occurs. It follows then that the fnishing department is where the most proft is lost. But it is also where it can be increased. Fortunately, there are things you can do to increase the likelihood of operating a proftable fnishing department. You can start by developing strategies to increase your profts and decrease your costs. IMPROVE WORKFLOW First, examine something that often gets overlooked—workfow. If your fnishing department has poor workfow, profts are eaten up through wasted time, which equals wasted payroll. Think how much time could be saved if staff were not tripping over each other, crashing into poorly located work areas and machinery, or transposing jobs everywhere. Improving workfow using a strategic design can be a low- or no-cost improve- ment to your department. USE EMPLOYEES WISELY The next issue is to consider your workforce talent. Are you using their skills to your best advantage? Generally, the fnishing department is where the highest skilled workers are. And if they aren't—they should be! Increased handling is the reason the highest amount of spoilage occurs in the fnishing department. Therefore, put your best and most conscientious workers in fnishing. Of course, highly skilled fnishing operators demand more pay, but remember proft accrues over time and an investment now equals proft in the future. BETTER EQUIPMENT INVESTMENT Investing in better equipment is an option you may shy away from due to the amount of fnances required. However, today's fnishing technology is designed to process almost any job desired. For example, MEI Systems, Inc.'s MEI 641 claims it can enable a lab to increase edging productivity, as well as fexibility, through fast, accurate edging of simple and complex edge types. This would include, for example, straight bevels, inclined bevels, rimless with drills, grooves, and polishing, in addition to T-bevels and step backs (Shelf). Automation can potentially elimi- nate operator errors, resulting in reduced spoilage and an increase in your bottom line. Technology has made lens processing more effcient and can produce higher-quality fnished lenses. Jobs such as lens blocking, tracing, safety beveling, edge polishing, and edge grooving are now all automated. This allows jobs to be turned around faster, leading to improved customer and patient satisfac- tion. PROFITABLE PRODUCTS The fnishing department does more than just produce lenses. It provides specifc services as well. Products and services with the highest proft margins generate the most money. There- fore, once you have identifed your most proftable offerings, you should concentrate on achieving higher sales targets. Today's optical market is alive and vibrant with new products. Developing a new product line is a potential revenue source. Chances are your lab has a tinting unit. So, take, for example, Brain Power, Inc.'s (BPI) Melanin Tint. This product boasts a wide range of benefts for patients, from blue light protection to help with tremors associated with Parkinson's To operate a proftable fnishing department, you can develop strategies to increase profts and decrease costs. If your fnishing department has poor workfow, profts are eaten up.