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2/2023
▶ Special topic: Future Lab
MAFO – The Conference 2023
Paperless production
Challenges and opportunities for labs
▶ Technology
The correction of near vision astigmatism
De-fogging with heat
▶ Market Survey
Industrial edging
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The CHC200 is capable of producing up to 200 lenses per hour when fully loaded. Combining the latest dip coating control technology, the CHC200 has two fully automated, two-axis robotic handling systems to quickly process lenses between stages providing increased exibility. With two separate zones for cleaning and coating, the CHC200 boasts ISO5 HEPA ltration and extraction, producing a contamination free coating zone.
t: +44 (0) 1462 491616
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Hanna Diewald Chief editor
Ahighly valued employee, young, well trained, highly motivated, popular and earning a good salary quits her job. From one day to the next. She does not have a new job to go to. Such cases leave employers perplexed.
On top of this, if the team leader then moves to a competitor and maybe another colleague goes on parental leave, then suddenly an enormous gap opens up that can quickly become a real nightmare for the employer.
Why a particular employee decides to leave is not always apparent, nor can it be avoided in every case. However, in times where skilled workers are in short supply, it is obvious that good employees are worth their weight in gold.
How to retain them, or attract new ones, is one of the greatest challenges of our time, along with the shortage of materials and rising energy costs in the EU. Thus employers need to court talented staff.
In his article, “How companies keep their employees”, expert Christian Bernhardt sets out to answer the question, what strategies are most likely to succeed.
In this issue, we also look back with a certain pride at this year's MAFO – The Conference. After several years of absence, the industry was finally able to get together again, as usual one day before Mido. Speakers and panelists alike captivated the audience with fascinating contributions about new technologies and a roundtable discussion.
This issue also looks at some very interesting topics for the future, such as a new type of anti-fog coating that converts sunlight into heat thanks to a gold coating.
In an interview, we shine a spotlight on paperless workflow in the lab and the opportunities and hurdles this involves.
We also look at how labs can make themselves fit for the future, and “The correction of near vision astigmatism – compared to the cylindrical correction for distance vision”.
Please enjoy reading this issue and don´t forget your colleagues and employees. This magazine as printed version but also a link to the digital edition can be easily shared with all team members.
¬ Unique: Introducing the all-new, one-of-a-kind automated production line for mineral Rx production
¬ Powerful: Independent machines for simultaneous rough and fine grinding processes maximize throughput to achieve the highest productivity (more than 30% higher than the previous versions)
¬ Modern: New features such Adaptive Tool Wear and Variable Torque Control enhance process control, performance and quality
¬ Reliable: OptoTech has partnerships with market leading manufacturers and brings together many years of experience in ophthalmic and precision optics to create a reliable and valuable solution for mineral Rx production
¬ SWARFMASTER: High performance pre-cutter for optimized high precision milling with adaptive tool wear feature
¬ ASM Rx-A: 4-axis generator with 2 tool spindles for high quality fine and finest grinding
¬ ASP Rx-A: Digital-Surfacing polisher with 2 polishing stations for pre- and fine-polishing
Contact your local sales representative for more information or meet us at booth F2319 at Vision Expo East, New York from March 17th to 19th.
With an increase in visitors of 19.2% compared to the previous year, opti is in an upbeat spirit together with the entire optics & design industry. This year, around 15,500 visitors from 67 countries gathered in Munich to take advantage of the diverse range of innovative formats for knowledge, sales, and exchange in a positive atmosphere. A total of 307 exhibitors from 28 countries exhibited at opti 2023. “opti is back and on course for success! Three inspiring trade show days with visitors and exhibitors from all over the world have come to an end. I would like to explicitly thank everyone who believed in opti with us and made the success possible! Seeing the industry united again in such a great atmosphere was my highlight,” says Klaus Plaschka, Managing Director of GHM Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH.
Thomas Truckenbrod's (President of the Central Association of Opticians and Optometrists) personal conclusion: “The trade show is alive. And how! For me, opti was a successful relaunch of an essential trade show for the optical industry in Munich. The compact number of halls, which I felt were well attended, contributed to a pleasant trade show feeling. Despite all the circumstances, the consistently positive mood gives us hope for a commercially successful year.”
According to preliminary calculations by the Spectaris industry association, German manufacturers of ophthalmic optics and consumer optics were able to increase their sales by 2.5 percent to 4.87 billion euros in 2022, despite the difficult underlying conditions. Domestic business remained at the previous year's level with a value of 2.42 billion euros. The number of employees also remained unchanged at 20,600. International business, on the other hand, increased by around five percent, with foreign sales climbing to 2.45 billion euros. Export statistics for the first three quarters of 2022 show a seven percent increase in exports to countries in the European Union, which account for around 62 percent of exports. Exports to North America and Asia also increased significantly. By contrast, exports to the rest of Europe were weak, partly due to a drop in business with Russia.
As a result of the sharp rise in the cost of living and the significant downturn in consumer spending, sales in 2022 were slightly below expectations. In particular, the second half of 2022 was weak. Spectaris presented the economic figures at the start of opti in Munich.
IOT, a global leader in lens technologies , has appointed Carolina Gago as chief operating officer. The company says that this appointment will strengthen the presence and coordination of IOT globally, ensuring that customers everywhere have the best access to all the company’s teams and resources. Carolina has spent almost two decades in the optical industry. In the last four years, she has served as general manager of IOT being part of the executive team. Her main mission has been designing and implementing strategic direction and overseeing day-to-day operations within the company internationally in more than 60 countries.
“I have full trust in Carolina to continue pushing the success of our customers,” Daniel Crespo, IOT president, said. “Her leadership, supported by an incredible team, has helped IOT to better serve our customers on a whole new level. Her responsibilities have now been extended to all markets, including North America.”
“After working at IOT for more than 12 years,” Carolina said, “I still feel the energy and the same passion I had the day I started. I look forward to my new role as COO. And I take this responsibility with a strong commitment to deliver to our partners the products, tools, and services they need to succeed and grow.”
The European Chemicals Agency ECHA has published the PFAS restriction proposal. The details of the proposed restriction of around 10,000 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are available on ECHA’s website. ECHA’s scientific committees will now start evaluating the proposal in terms of the risks to people and the environment, and the impacts on society. A six-month consultation is planned to start on 22 March 2023. More information and a timeline for the next steps can be found on the ECHA website. http://www.echa.europa.eu/
Global growth is projected to fall from an estimated 3.4 % in 2022 to 2.9 % in 2023 , then rise to 3.1 % in 2024. The forecast for 2023 is 0.2 percentage point higher than predicted in the October 2022 World Economic Outlook (WEO) but below the historical (2000–19) average of 3.8 %. Global inflation is expected to fall from 8.8 % in 2022 to 6.6 % in 2023 and 4.3 % in 2024, still above pre-pandemic (2017–19) levels of about 3.5 %.
Based on objective assessments of visual function with habitual correction in the 2021 nationally representative National Health and Aging Trends Study, 27.8% of US adults 71 years and older had vision impairment (VI). Distance and near visual acuity and contrast sensitivity impairment were present in 10.3%, 22.3%, and 10.0%, respectively; a higher prevalence of VI was associated with older age, less education and income, non-White race, and Hispanic ethnicity.
Source: Killeen OJ, De Lott LB, Zhou Y, et al. Population Prevalence of Vision Impairment in US Adults 71 Years and Older: The National Health and Aging Trends Study. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2023;141(2):197–204. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2022.5840
Source: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/ Issues/2023/01/31/ world-economic-outlook-update-january-2023
The North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) announced that North America’s pet insurance sector exceeded $2.83 billion USD
at year end 2021, and industry growth more than doubled over the past four years (2018 – 2021).
Source: NAPHIA
Source: https://www.statista.com/chart/28744/world-populationgrowth-timeline-and-forecast/
Ideally suited for small and mid-sized RX labs, the EBC 500 offers all of today’s high-end processes and enables small labs to compete at a high quality level, despite the small investment and footprint. It is equipped with a high performance EBG system with eight pockets for evaporation materials providing high process flexibility. Layer properties are optimized with Ion Assisted Deposition using Ar or O₂ to guarantee best process qualities on organic or glass lenses. Proven process technology and components combine to provide short process times, making the EBC 500 a powerful and reliable batch coating system. With the optimized design of the vacuum chamber and protection shields, changes are carried out faster and easy, resulting in minimum downtime during production. Visit www.schneider-om.com
Data obtained by Horizons Optical confirms that there are misconceptions inherent to the progressive lenses that keeps a large group of presbyopes reluctant to start using this type of lens. All of this highlights the need on the part of ECPs to have educational sales tools that help them introduce presbyopes to the world of progressives lenses and thus improve the visual quality and life of these patients. In this sense, Horizons Optical has presented during Mido the mimesys® Coach, a virtual simulator that allows the patient to experience the use of progressive lenses and appreciate the advantages of this type of lens, thus becoming a key element in the purchasing decision. Watch the mimesys® Coach video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg9x5yWCLzw
After a two-year break, MAFO – The Conference once again was the central meeting point for the international optical industry in February 2023 as part of Mido, Europe's largest eyewear show. The motto of the first event since the Corona break out was “ Lab Visions – Imagining the future of the ophthalmic industry”. As usual, industry representatives from all over the world met for one day before the start of the Mido in Milan to learn about the latest trends and technologies for the production and processing of ophthalmic lenses.
By Frank SonnenbergAs with many industries, the world of optics is also on a journey of transformation. The use of AI, digitalization in process control and new manufacturing techniques are currently shifting the ophthalmic industry.
François Breton (Schneider) kicked off the conference with a view from the practice. His motto: “Chemistry is key to success!”
What’s it all about? Anything related to ophthalmics must be clean; but not only clean to the human eyes, also clean at a molecular level for certain coating processes. Breton reviewed the most popular ultrasonic cleaning machine designs and explained what should be the ideal profile for maximizing cleaning quality and minimizing process cycle times.
Pau Artús (Horizons Optical) then took the conference participants into the world of virtual reality.
This can transform the customer experience into something new. In recent years, virtual reality headsets have made a leap forward in terms of usability and cost. They offer exciting user experiences but, more interestingly, they intrinsically have the high precision electronics needed to measure user head motion. Because of this, some companies are starting to turn to this technology and take advantage of it, i.e. exciting experience and precision measurements, to offer opticians the possibility to perform some tests using this attractive tool, or even explore new applications.
According to Artús, VR can provide precise screenings and measurements, can be a treatment tool, train customers, can act as a selling tool to keep customers attention and provide exciting experiences.
The topic of digitization and the future also featured in the presentation of Xavier Bultez and Michael Kreis (both from Satisloh). By combining machines and AI devices into smart networks throughout the value chain, manufacturers are creating new benefits and business models for their customers.
“Digitalization and the Internet of Things will shape the labs of the future,” said Michael Kreis. “We talked about four hypotheses. One was that the overall IT architecture in the lab needs to adapt to enable the digitalization and new business models. Another hypothesis was
that artificial intelligence will create benefits for the users and for the labs if used in the appropriate way.”
Xavier Bultez explained the hypothesis that digitalization can drive sustainability. “We took the example of the job ticket, which is a very old technology that can be replaced today with smart Internet-of-Things (IoT) products that enhance the use of this data. The second example focused on smart parts and the ordering of consumables that can actually bring a lot of flexibility and simplification for the labs in the future. As a result, we think that all of this technology will drastically simplify the life of the lab in the future; we also think that they need to be implemented in order to ensure future success.”
François Breton (Schneider) - All you wanted to know about ultrasonic cleaning of lenses. Hanna Diewald, chief editor of MAFO, welcomes the participants of the conference.Their vision of the future: Everything is interlinked, all data can be accessed via the screen. At any time. At any stage in the production chain. Imagine an MES control center in your pocket that can virtually take you to any machine in the lab at any time and from anywhere by becoming one with the machine HMI. The downside of these new technologies: Besides offering great opportunities, such technologies also raise issues of cyber security and data privacy.
Optimization – albeit in spectacle lenses – was also the topic of the lecture by Mo Jalie (University of Ulster) who, in addition to
his role as speaker, also stood in as Chairman, in the absence of Peter Baumbach who was indisposed. Some manufacturers offer progressive lenses with the possibility of optimizing the near portion of the lens. Why is this necessary? What is this optimization based on?
Jalie pointed out that the cylinder cannot correct the same eye in the near vision range in general. The near vision cylinder needs to be increased by a small percentage. He gave a formula which could be useful to lens manufacturers if they want to use freeform technology to produce a lens that has different cylinder powers in the upper h alf and the lower part of the lens (see also page 30 - 32).
Mo Jalie (University Ulster) - Cylindrical power for near vision.
Michael Kreis and Xavier Bultez (Satisloh)
For Sandra Stry (Schneider) the time has come to think in terms of systems. “You don’t have to think about individual machines, you have to think about systems.” This systems approach goes hand in hand with extensive process digitization and affects not only manufacturing but all departments in the company. Warehousing, surfacing, cleaning, coating and edging – fully integrated and working together as one. Adopting these new technologies, labs will be empowered with new options for differentiation towards a successful future.
Thinking in terms of “systems” as opposed to “machines” incorporates intelligence that goes beyond the previous level and ultimately offers that “little extra” that labs have been looking for: higher throughput and lower cost per lens. For this reason, a growing number of labs are now relying on fully-automated and -monitored intelligent production systems. Also using artificial intelligence.
Of course, the metaverse can't be ignored if you have set your sight on the future. Metaverse was one of the buzzwords in 2022 and it will
Sandra Stry (Schneider) - Ultimate, all-in automation: The power-lab of the next decade.
Christopher Diez (LensWare) - Paperless production – challenging lab and LMS.
continue to gain in importance in 2023. If Gaetano Volpe (ProCrea Tech) is right, it will become increasingly significant for the production of spectacle lenses with freeform surfaces in the coming years and lead to a further improvement in the quality of these lenses. There has never been more customization.
New manufacturing techniques are taking account of ever more objective measurement data from the spectacle wearer concerned. Thus the analysis of head and eye rotation combined with a metaverse-based experience is arising as a new effective tool to collect more data about patient’s vision behavior and further improve optimization algorithms. The result will be an even more customized lens than was previously available.
Christopher Diez (LensWare) took up the topic of purely digital workflows in his presentation.
The topic of paperless production is spreading and increasing in importance due to government funded projects in addition to the awareness of the positive effects on climate and the environment by the labs. However, “It is easier to set up a paperless production in theory, than to change a running production in practice,” he said. However this, too, is possible. The challenge is to create a completely new workflow.
Labs have to train their staff to start working with PCs, who previously only had to track orders by status booking, where this was not done automatically by scanners from conveyor solutions. The psychological effect here is not to be underestimated.
Of course, this is the first challenge for the LMS, too. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) for new workflows has to be intuitive, clear and user-friendly with minimum need for navigation. Furthermore, the pre-sorting based on job tickets to plan prescriptions – not forgetting rare prescriptions –will now become part of the system. Digitalizing an area of the lab, where most devices do not yet communicate fully with the LMS, will be the next revolution in the ophthalmic industry (see also page 26 - 28).
Daniel Crespo (IOT) and Thomas Zangerlé (A&R) presented a new system for automatic cosmetic inspection of ophthalmic lenses which provides consistent and reliable results. Cosmetic inspection has traditionally been a very difficult operation to automate, because it includes a certain subjective component requiring highly trained staff, which has been hard to replicate in automatic systems. The solution presented can be used for cosmetic inspection of semi-finished lenses. This was the first time that the two companies publicly presented their jointly developed system.
The panel discussion with four experts from the industry, chaired by Mo Jalie (University Ulster), marked the end of this year's conference. Together with Mark Mackenzie (Strategy with Vision), Georg Mayer (Rodenstock) and Devon Abblitt (Quantum Innovations) they focused on a longer view of the future. What will the industry look like in 2033? For Mark Mackenzie, one of the most important topics in the future will be higher-priced, single vision lenses. “It's about the so-called digital single-vision lens for young presbyopia, to help with accommodation,” he said. “When you're looking at a digital device, you've got a lot of energy being booked up into myopia control lenses, but that probably won't be enough. I think smart eyewear, as it's called, has now reaching a price range where it is becoming affordable.” He predicts moves by the larger ophthalmic-lens manufacturers to invigorate the single-vision segment through the use of smart eyewear. “Thus I believe it will be an important segment, even though it has failed to do so in the past. This may also be a threat to traditional manufacturers if they do not become part of it.” 3D printing is also seen as a major trend. Smart glasses will also become a market driver here.
How will purchases be made in the future? Online? Even though online retailing currently has only a small share of the market, this is set to change in the future. It will shift a lot with the generation's changing attitude to online business. In Canada and North America, in particular, 20% of sales are expected to be made online in future. “But I agree that the situation will differ a lot from one market to another,” added Georg Mayer. But you don't have to look so far into the future. MAFO – The Conference demonstrated that the industry is already undergoing major changes. This makes such a conference with its up-to-date topics all the more important. Chairman Mo Jalie said: “I can
remember many years ago how difficult it was to obtain information from other people in the profession who didn't want to share their secrets in case they were supplanted in their posts. But now I think people recognize that so many different skills are required that it is becoming necessary to share information. And this certainly has been achieved here.”
In any case, the months ahead in 2023 are sure to be exciting. However, there are also some open questions: How strong will the influence of AI be? How will the lab landscape develop? Which of today's visions will become standard practice tomorrow?
MAFO – The Conference 2024 may provide some of the answers – one year from now in Milan.
In its 51st edition, Mido 2023 sent out a strong signal, reinforcing its claim to be one of the most important international fairs in the optics world with very good figures. This is not only demonstrated in the number of visitors, but also by innovations in the industry set to change the sector in the years to come. B y Frank Sonnenberg
According to the organizers, around 35,000 visitors attended Mido 2023, 80% from Europe and 20% from the rest of the world. This represents a 60% increase over 2022, despite being well short of the record mark of 59,500 visitors in 2019. Nonetheless, things are clearly looking up. Not only did the visitors come from all over the world but the exhibitors too. Of the more than 1,000 exhibitors representing the entire supply chain – from machinery to lenses, along with frame manufacturers, the industry’s top brands to young independent designers – 72% were international, 28% of them from Italy. Taken together, of the international exhibitors 51% were from Europe, 42% from Asia and 7% from the rest of the world. President Vitaloni also expressed his satisfaction with the participation at the fair: “We have a responsibility to be among Italy’s most international events and without a doubt the industry leader at a global level. This means organizing a show that meets the needs of professionals who, every year, arrive from around the world to conduct business at Mido.” In addition to fashion glamour with appearances by many VIPs and personalities from the world of entertainment, the trade fair demonstrated its role and positioning as an important showcase for technical innovation in this sector.
A foretaste of the main focus in the industry in 2023 was already given the day before the Mido opened at MAFO – The Conference. During the trade fair itself, however, visitor interest continued at an equally high level.
The spectrum ranged from well-established technologies for lens production and coating – the smaller footprint of the latest machines, more sustainable and resource-saving production – to innovations in the digitalized process chain with networked machines.
Already at the previous Mido, Satisloh exhibited a completely new coating technology, so-called “Film Lamination”. This is a process where the entire coating – i.e. the AR coating and the hard coating – is laminated to the blank as a film using the Satisloh Film-Pod machine and the Tech-Film AR. The whole process takes about 15 minutes, completely replacing conventional vapor coating in a box coater. The target group for this new technique is primarily smaller labs. The advantages are that investment costs for machines are lower and lenses can be coated individually instead of having to do an entire batch. Something else completely new can be expected at the so-called Slugfest in mid-June in Wetzlar.
A special highlight awaited the participiants at the MEI booth. The company presented their first all-in-one, block-free digital lens generator, called CoreTBA, which combines seven manufacturing operations together, rendering alloy blocks completely obsolete. Compared to the space required for conventional manufacturing solutions, the
footprint here has also been significantly reduced. This solution should appeal particularly to smaller labs that often have to contend with a lack of space. Evidently an important topic in the industry this year.
Another current trend in the optical industry is that more and more manufacturers are bringing their lens production back to Europe, including the production of plano lenses in the sunglasses sector. With this in mind, MEI exhibited a new grinding center with high throughput capacity.
Schneider, too, picked up on increasing interest in these manufacturing centers, where several operations are combined together. One of the machines on display is able to manufacture practically any kind of lenses from start to finish.
A topic that is likely to become increasingly important in the future: automated cosmetic inspection of spectacle lenses. One recently launched machine attracted a lot of attention here. For the process to run smoothly, artificial intelligence (AI) has to learn how highly-trained humans evaluate the surface of a lens.
Apart from this, the digitized process chain was the main focus on Schneider's stand, taking a systems approach which affects all companies and production departments. Warehousing, surfacing, cleaning, coating and edging are all completely interlinked. Employees can now call up any information at any time and see where potential problems exist in the system.
OptoTech’s focus at the Mido was on mineral lenses. They presented a new automated surfacing line for mineral lenses which includes milling, grinding and polishing machines. If it were up to the company, it would likely usher in a new era of sustainable lens production. Another innovation was a patent-pending innovative feature for OptoTech’s De-Taper, leading to savings in processing time and thus energy consumption.
Automated cosmetic inspection of spectacle lenses powered by artificial intelligence (AI) was one of the highlights on the Automation & Robotics stand. The automated system can replicate the quality level of human inspection, whereby according to the company it is even more consistent and reliable. The technology combines a physical probe – that mimics human vision in detecting cosmetic errors – with state-of-the-art, machinelearning techniques that classify defects according to their “apparent” size and location, to determine whether or not the lens is acceptable. The technology can even distinguish between dust and actual defects. By analyzing the data from the measuring system, preventive maintenance can be initiated at an early stage, rather than having to react later. The system was developed jointly in cooperation with the IOT company. Another new product was a packaging machine with a smaller footprint. This is particularly important for small labs, because they have less and less space available; and space means money.
Schneider booth F.l.t.r.: Jörg Bauer, Managing Director, Leica Eyecare GmbH; Luis Gómez Gálvez, R&D scientist, IOT; Manuel Weber, Sales Account Engineer, A&R; Sandra Fonticoli, Sales Director, A&R, at the booth of Automation & Robotics. Stefan Seifried, Managing Director, at the OptoTech booth. Eyoto booth Coburn boothA different way of inspecting the surface of spectacle lenses in labs was exhibited by Eyoto. The system was first launched a year ago but this time it was exhibited in a new and improved version. It performs advanced surface inspection with full-color power maps in just 50 seconds. The new device can repeatedly and objectively check every semi-finished, uncut or mounted lens.
Finally, a spotlight on something that cannot be seen at a glance. EU regulations are concerned among other things with the constituent substances in thin-film materials, some of which may be b anned in future. This is naturally relevant to what materials may ultimately be applied to a lens. Evochem, a key supplier to the thin-film industry, exhibited two modified groups of products: ETC-Pro and ETC Ultra. Their product portfolio already meets the upcoming EU regulations, which come into force in 2023, regarding the content of C9-C14 PFCA related products.
On 4 August 2021, the EU Commission published Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/1297 to amend entry 68 of Annex XVII to REACH (EC) No 1907/2006, restricting perfluorocarboxylic acids containing 9 to 14 carbon atoms in the chain (C9-C14 PFCAs), their salts and related substances.
Anyone wishing to sell coated lenses in Europe must now ensure that their coatings, i.e. the materials used, conform to this amended regulation.
So what next? System networking will certainly be an increasingly important topic in the future. In addition, a variety of processes previously done by skilled human beings, such as cosmetic final inspection, will be automated. Sooner or later, robot colleagues will become commonplace. In addition, the new EU environmental regulations will have a direct effect on manufacturing processes, supply chains and materials used.
We will all learn more by the time the next Mido at Fiera Milano Rho comes round, on 3-5 February 2024. ◆
No, they are all difficult to organize. The team works 365 days a year to prepare the three days of event. There is no discount anywhere. If you organize an event that is so crucial to the industry, e verything has to be planned in detail. It is not just a matter of a floor layout but if you walk around the show, you see how many areas are beautifully organized. I would say that the experience the visitors are living within the show is not comparable to any other event in our industry.
In 2019, we had over than 1300 exhibitors. In 2022, we had 670 and now we have a thousand. This means that we have an increase of close to 70% compared to 2022. Basically, we have the same numbers as in 2019 minus a portion of Asian companies, which could not show up because they only opened the borders recently. Nevertheless, we have a good number of companies from all over the Asian continent, around 400, including China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, India, and while there is a little gap compared to 2019, we are happy that a good portion of these manufacturers are back. We have also visitors coming from the Far East.
There have been already several AI products introduced to the market. Some did not have great success, but I definitely think there is a role for them and high tech will be developed more and more. I do not think there will be a revolution in our field that will change our work completely. But high-tech is a very solid segment that will be developed in the next years. I saw that we have already many examples of smart glasses or projects involving the metaverse at the show. I would like to see greater use of smart glasses in the industry. Glasses turn into displays in which the necessary information is projected into the worker's field of vision and in real time. The worker then has his hands free and his eyes focused on the task at hand. Still improvements definitely need to be done on lightness and adaptability to the face, but given the many possible applications, I believe they can be an excellent work tool that our companies should consider.
of Mido.The feedback was very good. Mido is the only trade show where we have the entire industry present – from the manufacturing machines to the raw materials components and all the brands that are presenting their new projects. If they have to pick one event where to present all their technologies, this is the event where they want to come. We have a whole area that is dedicated to technology and machinery and I saw myself just a few minutes ago that they have many visitors.
The advantage is the fact that exhibitors can present new collections and projects early in the month when the buying process has just started and there is full motivation. It is a benefit for most of the exhibitors to have an impact on their economic numbers within the first semester. This is a good moment to sell and to buy, to have the numbers and the orders being shipped out. I think the companies are happy for this reason. In the next years, Mido will always be positioned at the beginning of February. It is important that the markets know this well in advance, so that they can get into the rhythm to present their new products here.
As an association, we are very careful and focused on sustainability. That is why we are working on a sustainability label for products with a technical table and many companies being involved. It probably will be launched within this year. This will be a voluntary certification, so that companies in the industry will be able to understand what lies behind each single product – where, how, and when products are made. This is very important in order to transmit the sentiment of being transparent. Based on this label, we have created six awards for sunglasses, frames and packaging, for products being made in Europe and the rest of the world. I think that the jury has done a very good job in the sense that they dig deep. We have to fight greenwashing and try to give awards and underline the processes that really have a low impact towards the environment and a big positive impact towards the social aspect. Our role is to shine a light on these companies and products and I think we did that with the awards yesterday.
Thank you for the interview.
Researchers in groups led by professors Dimos Poulikakos and Thomas Schutzius at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH) in Switzerland have developed a 10 nm thin transparent coating of gold that can convert sunlight into heat.[1] It can be applied to glass or other surfaces, for example, and thus prevent them from fogging up. The coating could be used on spectacle lenses and car windows, among other things. Dr. Iwan Hächler, who played a key role in driving the development, explained the properties and structure of the coating in an interview with MAFO.
By Rebekka Nurkanovic
What are the unique properties of the gold nanocoating?
There are different strategies how you can prevent fogging. The most commonly used these days are superhydrophilic sprays where condensed water is evenly distributed on the surface. Then there are superhydrophobic coatings, which try to prevent the nucleation. The problem is that they are all exposed to environmental influences, which limit their durability. Our goal was to find another approach.
From a thermodynamic perspective, using heat is a very powerful method to prevent fog. It has also been used already, for instance in the rear shield of cars, where you can see the little
copper wires. The problem is that converting electricity directly into heat is one of the most inefficient things you can do from an energy perspective.
We wanted to find an efficient solution which relies on using heat. For this, we needed another source of energy than electricity. Visibility usually means that there is light. Interestingly, nearly half of the solar energy consists of infrared radiation, which is invisible to the human eye. The challenge was to design a coating, which stays transparent in the visible but absorbs the infrared spectrum. It was important that the coating was thin, so that it could be integrated beneath antireflection, anti-scratch coatings or any other hydrophobic coating
for cleanliness. It also needed to be scalable, cost effective and efficient. Based on these boundary conditions, we came to the result we have now, which absorbs strongly in the near infrared. This energy is dissipated into heat that can be used for fog prevention or removal. We compared it to a control, a pure glass that has the same wetting properties on the surface. The comparison showed a three to fourfold improvement of the fog resistance performance with our coating. It also proved to defog about two to three times faster. The variation of the solar intensity was one of the key aspects we wanted to consider. The idea was to develop a product that is not just working in the lab under perfect conditions. We tested the gold coating under one sun irradiance, which is the standard condition in research and showed a temperature increase of more than eight degrees Celsius. Next, we tested it at lower solar intensities down to 200 watts per square meter, which is a fifth of the intensity and which can be compared to a typical late afternoon sun in winter. Under these conditions, it still proved to efficiently prevent fog formation and rapidly defog glass. Lastly, we tested how much energy or how much radiation the coating absorbs if light does not come straight from the top, but from an angle. We showed that it does not matter from which angle it comes up to 30 degrees. Our coating still has the same absorptive beahvior, which means that the coating works even with clouds, as long as you have some level of luminosity.
When I look back at this project, it was very interesting because we explored so many options how we might solve this. Initially, we had the idea of developing a coating that is transparent, sunlight-selective and infrared absorbing. We explored many ways how to solve this and ran into several dead-ends. I remember the day we took a pair of eyewear outside on a terrace here at ETH, to test it under natural conditions. It is one thing to know that everything works fine in the lab but testing your product outside and seeing that it really worked there was pretty mind blowing.
The goal is essentially to have as much heat localized as possible. You want to heat up only the surface, because that is where the evaporation
takes place. We decided that it needed to be a very thin coating so that all the energy is absorbed over as little thickness as possible so that all the heat can be rapidly used for the defogging. In order to create such a surface there are different approaches. We deposited the absorbing material, which in our case is gold, through evaporation. When the gold settles on the surface, it forms little nano islands. Then you deposit more until it becomes a continuous film. There is a point, where we have an optical nonlinearity and we have a very interesting optical phenomenon that happens at exactly this deposition thickness, which leads to our desired properties. We call this the sweet spot of the absorbing layer of our material. The absorbing gold layer is then encapsulated between two dielectrics or non-conductive materials in order to protect it. As you can imagine, a very thin layer of gold is not very robust. Therefore, we put the dielectric on top so that it is guarded and the total thickness is still about a thousand times thinner than a human hair and the structure absorbs nearly 30% of the sunlight. It is so thin that you can even put it on flexible substrates, bend it and it is not affected.
The most important advantage for spectacle lenses is that it is integrated. You do not have to think about taking it with you and it is more sustainable than buying and producing more plastic and throwing it away after use.
We use two of the most heavily used industrialized machines in the lens industry, thermal evaporation and sputtering. The whole coating was made on weekends because these are the two most heavily used tools in the cleanroom of IBM where we fabricated it. We did not want to annoy people by blocking the tools when we did the parametric deposition. The coating is easy to scale up and produce over larger areas.
We use materials from the clean room and high quality gold but this does not mean that it is expensive. We did the math once for a pair of glasses and the material costs for gold are about 20 cents because the coating is so thin. We also compared it to the amount of gold in a smartphone and you need approximately one hundred coated lenses to get to the equivalent of one smartphone. We filed a patent for the technology and the patent is for several materials and materials
Paperless production offers many benefits for labs, but the road to get there is not without challenges. Christopher Diez, authorized officer at LensWare International, has been project manager for complex LMS projects in conceptualization and rollout processes since 2019. His presentation at MAFO – The Conference 2023 highlighted various aspects to consider when implementing paperless production. Diez spoke with MAFO about his insights and experience in the development and handling of corresponding software
By Rebekka NurkanovicDoes paperless lab mean completely free of paper, or are there still areas where paper will continue to play a role in the future?
In a paperless lab, paper disappears completely from the lens manufacturing process. It is still needed in the shipping process to protect the lenses and for printing delivery notes, some of which are required
by law. There is also an exceptional case in lens production where paper still exists. This is the typical one-sided breakage, where the good lens is protected on one side by a white paper bag, even during intermediate storage and when traveling through the lab. However, in a standard cycle with no breakage, the lab can be entirely paperless – from the receipt of the order to dispatch in the shipping department.
The ability to monitor progress is significantly improved, especially in the coating department, as digital monitoring in these areas is made possible for the first time. Up to now, one only knew that orders had entered the department but not where they were. Digitization improves the flow of information and furthermore there are also clear advantages with regard to the Medical Devices Regulation. Since we now no longer require paper in the coating departments, this should lead to a reduction in paper dust and thus an improvement in quality, thanks to less dust being deposited on the lenses. However, it remains to be seen whether this effect is actually observed in practice. In the surface production itself, the production is already fully automated in the larger labs and thus virtually paperless. For the machines themselves, it makes no difference whether they scan a barcode from a paper or job tray or read an RFID chip.
You have also considered the changeover to a paperless lab from a psychological perspective. What particular aspects have you considered here?
That is actually the biggest challenge. Of course, there are also technical challenges but, in my opinion, the psychological aspect is the key issue during changeover. Particularly in coating, where PCs have not played any significant role to date, this represents a major change in the workflow. Everyone knows that people are creatures of habit. Thus any changeover is bound to be difficult and will always present a psychological challenge. So it is important that management not only makes decisions but also that the employees are involved. Only with the support of the employees can the introduction of the software be successful. This is my great hope and request to the labs: close cooperation between the current users of the system in the departments and us as software developers is absolutely essential. This is the only way to develop software that truly meets all requirements and is easy and intuitive to use.
In your presentation, you divided the technological aspects into the areas work preparation, surfacing/treatment and quality control/edging/shipping. Which aspects play a key role in each of these areas?
In work preparation, we have the major challenge that without paper, there is no indication that new orders exist. In many smaller labs, it is only when paper starts coming out of the printer that employees know that there is something afoot. If there is no paper, we need to find another way to clearly indicate the arrival of a new order on the screen. For larger labs, setting priorities was previously done using print channels or different colored paper, so this now has to be incorporated in the software. The major challenge is to create clear workflows in this area. Paper has the advantage that only one person can hold it in their hand at any one time, so there is no risk of different employees
processing the same job. In larger labs, where a number of employees go through the warehouse and prepare orders, the system has to be digitally protected so that people can't take each other's orders with some being picked multiple times while others are ignored undone.
In surface production, the changeover to paperless production is not a major challenge, because from blocking onwards in many cases material flow control and switches are used.
In coating, we are introducing the PC for the first time. We have already developed a solution and carried out a proof-of-concept with two major labs. What still remains is to carry out field tests, to gain experience on production and quality. This is a very exciting time and we hope to be able to come up with answers in the next few weeks. The first live introduction in a lab is planned for April.
Quality control for Rx on its own is also not a big challenge, as much can now be done using corresponding machines or manual lens meters. This procedure is well known and the visualization of expected measured value data has been around for years. Displaying the coating recipe is also not a big challenge because the staff know the recipe code. It is only necessary to display which production is to be expected at this workplace. However, this is not so in the case of edging inspection, where we used to have a one-to-one scale printout on the job ticket, so one could put the lens on the paper after edging to check the thickness and the thickness parameters. However, this can also be done on the screen, preferably on a horizontal display or a screen embedded into the table. Still, I see checking the shape as the biggest challenge in quality control, because the reflection on the screen is different from that on paper. And here again, this is also something employees have to get used to.
What features does the software need in order to meet the technical requirements as well as to be user-friendly?
The software development must take place under close coordination between the actual users and the developers. We have the great advantage that some of our developers have many years of experience in production which they can incorporate. Nevertheless, it is important for us to enter into a close dialog with lab employees. A balance has to be struck between user-friendliness and technical requirements. On the one
The software development must take place under close coordination between the actual users and the developers.
hand, the employee must receive sufficient guidance and confirm each step so that the software can then check that the appropriate operations are being carried out. At the same time, the number of mouse clicks required need to be minimized, so that the system is acceptable to the users. Particularly in departments where PCs have not previously been used, one should ensure that as few buttons as possible need to be pressed. We are naturally treading a fine line here and an ideal solution can only be found in close dialog.
In a new lab, you can certainly do everything all at once. In the case of existing labs wanting to change, it makes sense to split up the procedure into several steps. First, operations like surface production which are well under control must become completely paperless or “unmanned”. The first operation to go should be removing the process of carrying orders to the machines by hand, or entering and correcting values at the control panels.
After fully automating surface production, the next operation for me is in the direction of coating. While paper may still be available, because this is available as an option, employees should avoid making use of it as far as possible. Only after this should attention be turned to work preparation. There is also the option of doing the steps vice versa, this would have a psychological effect, since order processing ideally is fully automated anyway, coming from the B2B solution. We don't need to concern ourselves with dispatch & shipping, because for the time being paperwork remains essential in this area. As long as fully digitalized delivery documents are not accepted, delivery notes will need to be printed in the shipping department for the foreseeable future.
In principle, data security is the responsibility of the labs. They must ensure that appropriate backups are created so that the system can be rebooted in the event of a fault. The protection of end-user data is a
difficult matter because we ourselves are not interested in the data itself and it is not relevant to the processing of the order. Here lens suppliers and opticians must reach agreement on who transmits and stores what data and for how long. The system must only ensure that end-user-related data can be deleted. However, backups present us with a situation where it is technically not easy to delete data there, or it may even be partly contrary to our responsibility. Data protection and IT security requirements are thus at odds with each other here. The best advice is to try not to collect sensitive data in the first place. The warranty card does not have to be personalized, and as soon as you leave out the end-user-related information, such as name, email address and date of birth, data protection is no longer an issue, because ultimately the only information you save is the order number.
When do you expect to launch your software for the paperless lab in the marketplace?
The product development is now 90-95% complete. Until the practical trials in April, we are continuing to work on the fine points, for example on the brush washing system, where the job tray will need to be changed automatically by a machine. I expect we will have completed the final touches by the fall.
I am looking forward to seeing how much this topic will be accepted in the global market. On the one hand we have to consider return on investment and, on the other, the development of the legal position. Thus I don't really expect a big bang but rather a gradual change. But, however you see it, it is certainly an enormous step for our industry.
Thank you for the interview. ◆
The best advice is to try not to collect sensitive data in the first place.
Some manufacturers offer progressive lenses with the possibility of optimizing the near portion of the lens. Why is this necessary? What is the background to the optimization? This paper discusses the difference between the cylindrical correction prescribed for distance vision and the modification necessary to fully correct the eye’s astigmatism when the wearer uses the lenses for near vision.
By Mo Jalie
Most optometry textbooks explain why the cylinder which corrects an eye for distance vision cannot correct the eye for near vision except in two specific cases, the first being that the eye has no accommodative power and the second (and most unlikely situation) that the eye is able to accommodate by two different amounts along its principal meridians. In all other cases, the cylinder required for distance vision must be increased by a small percentage in order to fully correct the eye’s astigmatism.
The reason for this can be deduced from figure 1. Figure 1(a) shows an eye corrected for distance vision by an astigmatic lens whose power in the vertical meridian is F90 and in the horizontal meridian,
F 180. The vergence in the refracted pencil arriving at the eye in the vertical meridian is K 90 and in the horizontal meridian, K180 where K 90 = F 90 / (1 – dF 90) and K180 = F 180 / (1 – dF180).
The ocular astigmatism, i.e., the actual astigmatism inherent in the eye is K180 – K 90.
A numerical example might be easier to follow. Suppose that a subject wears the prescription +5.00/+3.00 x 90 for distance vision, then F 90 = +5.00 and F180 = +8.00. The vergence arriving at the eye, assuming its first principal point lies 14 mm behind the lens, is
The actual ocular astigmatism possessed by the eye is +9.01 - +5.38 = +3.63 DC x 90. Suppose now that the wearer views a near object at one-third meter from the lens. The vergence (L) arriving at the lens is -3.00 D and (ignoring the lens thickness) the vergence leaving the lens is (-3.00 + F90) = +2.00 D and the vergence leaving the lens in the horizontal meridian is (-3.00 + F180) = +5.00 D. The vergences arriving at the eye, B90 and B180 are
B 90 = 2 / (1 – 0.014 x 2) = +2.06 and B180 = 5 / (1 – 0.014 x 5) = +5.38.
The difference between these two vergences is +3.32 D which is +0.31 D less than the physical astigmatism possessed by the eye. In order to fully correct the ocular astigmatism for near vision the vergence arriving at the eye in the horizontal meridian must be increased by the actual astigmatism of the eye to +5.69 D, (+2.06 D + 3.63 D), so the vergence leaving the lens in the horizontal meridian must be +5.27 D. The power of the lens in the horizontal meridian must become +8.27 D, i.e., the cylindrical power for near vision should be increased to +3.27 D.
Now, consider the prescription, +1.00 / +4.00 x 90 with a prescribed addition of +1.00 for near. The expected prescription for near vision is +2.00 / +4.00 x 90, however, as we have seen, this cylindrical correction does not fully correct the astigmatism for near vision. To find the correct near vision prescription, the spherical component of the near vision prescription is obtained by adding the prescribed near addition to the sphere of the prescription which in this example gives +2.00 D, but the cylindrical component must be increased by a small amount since the cylinder which corrects the eye for near vision is slightly greater than the cylinder which corrects the eye’s astigmatism in distance vision. The axis direction is more difficult to determine by theoretical analysis and is best determined by measurement during the refraction procedure.
Optometrists are taught in University [1] that the cylinder which corrects an eye for distance vision does not fully correct the astigmatism of the eye in near vision unless the eye has no accommodation such as in cases of aphakia, or the very unlikely situation where the eye is able to accommodate by different amounts along its principal meridians. This second situation must be extremely rare since it implies, for example, that the crystalline lens is toroidal and the toricity changes by just the right amount to correct the near vision astigmatism, or, perhaps the crystalline lens is tilted and that upon accommodation, the tilt changes by just the right amount to correct the astigmatism. It is improbable that this latter case would ever happen!
It can be shown[2] that in all other cases, the cylinder for near should be increased by the small percentage, δC, where δC is given by
δC = -2 d (L + A) / 10% , (1)
where d is the distance from the eye’s first principal point to the lens, in millimetres, L is the reading distance expressed in dioptres and A is any prescribed addition for near. Note that L will carry a minus sign in this expression, (Fig. 2).
For a reading distance of one-third metre, L = -3.00 D and choosing a distance of 15 mm for d (note that the eye’s first principal point lies about one and two-thirds mm behind the cornea), the only variable is the near addition, A. The near cylinder should be increased by the percentage amounts shown in the table in figure 3. Note that the smaller the near addition, the more the near vision cylinder should be increased. In particular, even wearers of single vision lenses who need them only for distance vision but who are highly astigmatic might benefit from a different cylinder power and axis for continuous near vision and this compensation might be provided in some of the freeform single vision lenses.
It can be seen that these percentage increases are quite small and, in practice, only astigmats with high cylinder powers are normally affected. For a young person who does not need an addition for close work, the distance cylinder power is under-corrected by 9%, which for a 2.00 D cylinder is 0.18 D and for a 4.00 D cylinder, 0.36 D.
Fig. 1: Reason for change in cylinder power for near vision. Fig. 2: Increase in cylinder power for near vision.In the opening example, where no addition was prescribed, using equation (1), the near vision cylinder should be increased by 8.4% which is an extra cylinder power of 0.25 D and the near vision prescription should be +2.00 / +4.25, axis as yet, unknown. Although equation (1) is a binomial approximation it provides a result very close to the one obtained by paraxial ray-tracing.
I now come to the question “What is the axis direction?”.
Consider the subject shown in figure 4(a), whose head is in the primary position of gaze, the subject looking straight ahead in distance vision. In figure 4(b) the subject has been fitted with a pair of contact lenses on which the vertical meridian has been indicated.
When the eyes converge and depress for near vision, the actions of the external ocular muscles, notably the medial, the inferior and the superior oblique muscles typically cause extorsion of the globe, it has been assumed in this figure by some 5°. Obviously, the extorsion will vary from person to person, but as can be seen from the meridians shown by the contact lenses, not only will there be a change in cylinder power, but the axis direction of the cylinders will change due to the cyclorotation. The right eye axis will change to 95° and the left eye axis to 85° (Fig. 5). In practice, the axis direction should be determined by the eyecare practitioner during the sight test routine, especially for those subjects who have very precise near vision requirements. Several lens design systems allow these changes in cylinder power and/or axis direction, for example, Rodenstock, whose marketing
literature includes the statement “[…] different cylinder strengths and axis positions for distance and close up can be implemented in one progressive lens.” Carl Zeiss Vision also state that they can personalize the near vision zone of their progressive lenses. You might ask, “Why are so few prescriptions ordered with different cylinder powers for near vision”? I can think of several answers but perhaps the chief one is that, in practice, most cylinder powers are quite small, rarely exceeding 1.00 D and even more rare, greater that 2.00 D. However, research, such as that from Rosenfield et al[3], has shown that the correction of small astigmatic refractive errors may be important in optimizing patient comfort when working with a computer, so that reducing aberrational astigmatism in the near portion of a single vision lens designed for distance will benefit the wearer.
I hope that this brief paper has been informative and of interest and has described some of the clever technology which is now incorporated in the latest generation of personalized progressive power lenses.
References: [1] R abbetts R.B. (2007) Clinical Visual Optics (4th ed.), Elsevier, Oxford. [2] Jalie M. (2021), Principles of Ophthalmic Lenses (6th ed.), ABDO, Godmersham.
[3] Rosenfield M, Hue JE, Huang RR & Bababekova Y. (2011) “The effects of induced oblique astigmatism on symptoms and reading performance while viewing a computer screen”. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt.;32(2):142-8.
Mo JalieProfessor Mo Jalie DSc, SMSA, FBDO (Hons), Hon FCGI, Hon FCOptom, MCMI, is Visiting Professor in Optometry to the optometry course at Ulster University in the UK and to the educational facility Essilor Academy Europe. He also works as a consultant to the ophthalmic industry. He was the Head of Department of Applied Optics at City & Islington College from 1986 to 1995 where he had taught optics, ophthalmic lenses and dispensing from 1964. He is recognised as an international authority on the design of spectacle lenses and has written several books. Furthermore he is the author of some 200 papers on ophthalmic lenses, contact lenses, intra-ocular lenses and dispensing and a consultant editor to the Optician magazine. He holds patents for aspheric spectacle lenses and intra-ocular lenses. He has also produced several educational CDs and runs a web-based course in Spectacle Lens Design leading to the qualification FBDO (Hons) SLD.
Global crises and technological developments relentlessly force us to readjust and it may seem more difficult than ever to anticipate challenges and opportunities. Still, it is worthwhile to try and plan for success. Florian Gisch, Managing Director of the independent lab Wetzlich Optik-Präzision GmbH is in the process of making his company fit for the future. MAFO has asked him to share his thoughts about factors that drive change and how to prepare as best as possible for what might lie ahead. By Rebekka
Based on your experience and observations, which factors will drive change in the next 10 years?
We have probably never seen as many challenges in our lifetime as in the 20’s. So I will try to at least assort them into categories:
The COVID crisis has finally lead to a strong trend for a nationalization of tasks and governments are setting the rules for economy much more than we have been used to in the past. Especially in regards to trade
Nurkanovicbarriers and regulation of medical product imports, which finally both aim at market protection and decreasing dependency by increasing local production, we are currently in a time of unpredictability.
Energy
Especially energy costs have been quite a driving force in 2022 and will remain such in the upcoming years. It is quite conflicting to enforce a trend to go local with production on the one hand and to raise energy costs at the same time to a level, which prevents international competitiveness. Especially since this is not organized equally EU-wide, the different energy price limitations etc. will also have an influence on the location of optical industry in Europe, since it is a relatively energy intensive business. In our case, energy costs have been a major factor for relocating the company to a new building to guarantee a future of a "Made in Germany" production.
Energy efficiency is just one part of a sustainability strategy. Also, here there is a strong political influence on the future of labs in Europe. Will a local sustainable, clean and energy saving production get protected in any way from international markets where these targets have minor priority? We probably see a tendency to do so, but lawmaking processes are slow and in business life I do not yet see the acceptance of higher prices for such production in a decent way.
Besides the traditional major players, we have many growing smaller chains throughout Europe. I currently have the impression that there is quite a need among these smaller players to differentiate from the major players, and that is surely a chance for smaller labs.
During the past decades we became quite used to the fact that there is always a new material, a new production technique, a new design or a new coating, which pushed the market forward and allowed for a classical product lifecycle planning. The product “ophthalmic lens” has become quite mature during this time and will only allow for smaller adjustments, which will probably not be the “new big thing” – in many ways technical limits are reached. In such a mature market, it is all about efficiency of production, creating volume to achieve a perfect capacity usage, and it is a lot about economies of scale, which is why we see quite a tendency to build up mass production setups instead of smaller labs. On the other hand, smaller labs have the flexibility to specialize and to react more quickly to disruptive technologies. Not only for labs, but also for the big players, the biggest challenge in a long term is obviously to be expected from disruptive technologies in the field of smart glasses. When big tech enters the market with such – and it is not a question of if, but only when – we can probably expect similar scenarios like in the watch industry.
Inflation, supply chain shortages, shortage of skilled workers, consolidation: Which of these factors do you expect to have the biggest impact on labs in the years ahead?
I personally expect consolidation to have the biggest impact. As a mid-sized lab, we simply have to face the fact that it is not our business anymore to supply a major player in retail business with 1.50 HMC stock lenses and surely also not spherical SV RX lenses. All previously mentioned developments strongly speak against a future and competitiveness in such fields.
What opportunities do you see for labs in the foreseeable future?
There are quite different strategies to cope with the challenges and changes. To make it short, all answers are to be found in differentiation, specialization or verticalization. Differentiation can e.g. be also created by a local production to benefit from the “go local” trend. Specialization is probably the most difficult one, since there is a strong tendency among all market players to copy any kind of specialization and to just have one more page in the catalogue. Sports, edge filters and high prescription
lenses are just a few examples for such. Verticalization is finally the trend among a few players to enter B2C business.
What will the role of smart glasses be? Do you see them as threat or opportunity for lab owners?
I actually do not think that this is an issue that only affects smaller labs but also the big international players. We are living in times in which one disruptive technology can also change the market overnight for them. We have not seen “the smart glasses solution” with the perfect look and a killer application yet, which consumers would consider to have that superior advantage compared to traditional glasses. But that can be released anytime. We will obviously not be the one releasing it – chance is high that it will be big tech releasing such. To be realistic, they will be the ones deciding what will be the part of the traditional optical industry and also of the retailers. Anyway, also here I think it is much easier for a lab to adapt to such changes than for a worldwide player.
You are in the process of setting up your lab for the future. What aspects play a role in your planning and how do you approach them?
As mentioned previously, we have just moved with the lab to a new location, and it is simply all about a sustainable production, a maximum of automation and a better software integration of retailers in regards to order systems and failure prevention.
Sustainability is mainly driven by the production setup and the building itself, which are mostly responsible for usage of energy and other resources as for example water. Waste prevention and disposal have a long tradition in Germany – so I guess we are well prepared for that.
Automation is an issue that mid-sized labs – including us – did not focus enough on in the past, mostly driven by a suboptimal building, in which further automation would have led to disproportionately high costs. Meanwhile, a new factor to take into consideration when it comes to automation is obviously energy costs. In the past, it could be ignored that every assembly belt and every robotic solution has quite some energy consumption. Cost calculations for such obviously had to be revised in 2022.
What factors should independent labs in particular keep in mind in order to be still successful in ten years?
That besides all technical aspects, automation, order interfaces, etc., the business is about having satisfied customers.
Thank you for the interview. ◆
Florian Gisch, Managing Director of Wetzlich Optik-Präzision GmbH, Germany, has been at the company for more than ten years and has worked in positions to do with product development, marketing and international sales.
More and more employees are leaving their companies. This creates a vicious circle, because the departures are increasingly difficult to compensate for and thus place a burden on the remaining workforce. Fatally, managers react in these situations in an intuitively understandable but operationally counterproductive way.
By Christian Bernhardt
Whether the replacement will succeed at all depends on the recruiting competence of the companies. Professional processes, serious employee retention that addresses the culture of the company and the managers' view of people, as well as consistent personnel development will determine success or failure.
When the "Great Resignation" began in the USA in 2021, it was only a matter of time before the wave of employee resignations would also reach Europe and the D-A-CH countries. As various surveys by Gallup and other institutes show, the situation also worsened in Germany in the spring of 2022. Around a quarter of employees are in the starting
blocks and want to turn their backs on their company in the next 12 months. Over 40% are planning to leave in the next three years. I experienced that these are more than just statistics when an acquaintance quit her well-paid and secure job. She is capable, hardworking and conscientious; she has completed her master's degree with top marks and is in her early 30s – bursting with energy.
The current employment fit perfectly with her degree. The colleagues and manager were nice and the working atmosphere was good. After five years of professional experience, it seemed to be time for the next step in her career. Nevertheless, she quit. Was it the employer's fault? In my opinion, no. The employer did many things right, although certainly not everything, and had an otherwise low turnover rate. Particularly precarious: She quit her job without (!) knowing she had
a follow-up job up her sleeve. She is not alone in this. Around one in eight employees who leave the old company, do so with no new port in sight. Whereas older employees are still more concerned with security, representatives of the younger generation are more resolute in this respect. First, create free space and then see how it will be filled.
Imagine you have a team of 15. One position has been vacant for a long time and you just cannot find anyone suitable for it. Last week, an employee called in sick for an extended period. As is so often the case, no one is allowed to say it, but everyone knows that burnout is behind it. This can take a long time. That is not all: Yesterday, an employee told you, beaming, that she was pregnant. You have looked at her vacation and overtime accounts and it is clear that she still has about 8-10 weeks buffer until the new situation affects the team. Another employee announced in the last staff meeting that they would like to take a sabbatical and take six months off. At the time, you did not think it was a bad idea. This has nurtured hopes for a timely realization, which you rather do not want to disappoint. And at this point, an employee of my acquaintance's ilk comes along and gives three months' notice. Now the hut is on fire and there is no relief in sight for the time being. According to the IAB, the Institute for Employment Research of the German Federal Employment Agency, it currently takes around 4-5 months to fill a vacancy. Depending on the position, the industry, the location, the reputation of the company and the competence of the recruiters, the "time to fill" can take much longer.
team and try to find a solution to best distribute the to-dos. It's a delicate task: If something goes wrong in the process, there's a risk of a downward spiral, at the end of which the next employee will leave the company. A reduced workforce leads to a higher workload, which leads to more mistakes, dissatisfied customers and more pressure. As a result, internal unrest rises, followed by absenteeism and, finally, the turnover rate - and the vicious circle enters a new round.
Just how precarious the situation is in many places was shown by a survey conducted by the Hays recruitment agency in February 2022. Not the otherwise much sought-after engineers or IT specialists are at the top of the list of the most sought-after job profiles, but the good old recruiter. The demand increased by 93% compared to pre-Corona times, which is almost as much as engineers (48%) and IT specialists (+54%) combined. It is actually logical: When everyone's elbows are out in the battle for the best talent, the chances look even worse without professional recruiting.
Back to you and your decimated team. The problem with all the layoffs and absences is that the work still has to get done somehow. And it's the manager's job to make sure that just that happens. You look at your
None of it helps. You think about who could take on what and what the individual employees contribute to the success of the company. Whether you are aware of it or not – in order to gain clarity, you are guided by two parameters: willingness and ability. This results in four constellations, each with different implications for leadership.
▶ Our favorites who can and are willing.
▶ The hopeless cases. An employer once called them "rotten teeth": They don't want to and can't.
▶ The problem children: They actually can, but don't want to. The question is, why?
▶ Those employees for whom hope dies last. They may be only moderately competent, but their attitude and motivation are right.
With this pattern in mind, many managers fall into a trap in the event of staff shortages which, although intuitively understandable, regularly has counterproductive effects in operational terms. The crucial question: Where do you go when you need someone? Preferably to your best people. They do a good job and you know that you can rely on them. The problem with this is that it goes well once, twice, and maybe three or four times. But at some point, the good employees realize that the reward for their good work essentially consists of being loaded with one backpack after another. At the same time, the colleagues who do duty by the book, who drive projects to the wall, or who have taken their leave completely are spared. If the pressure increases and empathy as well as appreciation are lost among the leadership, you are threatened
with exactly that which you don't need at all: Your best people feel like pack mules instead of favorites. If this persists and is not adequately compensated, both on the monetary and on the interpersonal level, they lose motivation. Feeling unfairly treated and exploited, they start looking for something new.
Since the framework does not change, the question is what can be done instead, what should be done, what must be done! Jack Welch had a solution for the "rotten teeth". When he took over ailing General Electric, he identified those employees who were doing the company more harm than good and laid off over 100,000 employees. After that, things started to look up. Parting with employees who are neither willing nor able is not as inhumane as it first sounds. First, each of them can initially be given another chance, or you look to see if there is another position in the company for which they are a better fit. Secondly, it is not uncommon for dismissed employees to suddenly
blossom in a different environment. The favorites should be left to their own devices and given room to grow: If they are not stretched to the limit, they regularly use their free mental reserves to develop constructive and innovative solutions that advance the company as a whole. After you have taken care of the favorites and the most harmful employees, it is now a matter of raising the potential of the problem children and "hopefuls". For the latter, activities are recommended in which their strengths, which always exist somewhere, are put to use. If necessary, this can also be done across departmental boundaries. To follow the approach consistently, the employee's strengths can first be surveyed at Gallup and then evaluated as to how they can best be used. Critical weaknesses must be eliminated, of course. Tandem partners are helpful here for those areas in which the hopefuls need support. In addition, it should be determined where the journey is heading overall and which future skills are relevant in the respective area. Once clarity has been gained here, employees can be strategically developed in the right direction in good time. If there is a need in the situation described, a practicable solution is also not simply to redistribute the workload, but to differentiate the tasks into more demanding and simpler roles in order to utilize the potential of the stronger employees, but not to overload them quantitatively. At the same time, this also allows the skills of weaker colleagues to be better utilized. The most delicate, but also most promising group are the problem children. The delicate thing about them is that they used to be willing, but at some point, they lost their motivation. With employees who are no longer willing, there are parallels to disappointed customers. Sales has long known that it is many times easier to win back former customers than to convince a new one. It is the same with employees. The reasons for their withdrawal usually lie in squandered trust, unproven appreciation and disappointed expectations. If the leader is serious, winning back employees is actually easy: Open conversations, really listening to employees and taking them seriously, a clean clarification of expectations, honest apologies, opening up opportunities for creativity and development, and leadership that values employee competence and commitment are all viable second steps to bringing employees back to their favorite quadrant. Why second steps? Because the first step is to change the attitude of the manager. If the manager is not prepared to update his or her employee image and leadership paradigms and adapt them to the new framework conditions, the result will be half-hearted attempts that are quickly exposed as window dressing.
The labor markets have tilted and good employees can choose from attractive alternatives. This development has only just begun and will continue to intensify. As a result, the balance of power has also changed. The war for talent is over. The talents have won. Employers who still want to recruit staff successfully tomorrow must consider this and consistently take the step toward becoming a servant leader who sees leadership as a service and not a privilege.
The war for talent is over. The talents have won. Employers who still want to recruit staff successfully tomorrow must consider this and consistently take the step toward becoming a servant leader who sees leadership as a service and not a privilege.
▶ Do not lump your employees together, but manage them individually, depending on their level of maturity.
▶ Allow employees who are able and willing to do so, and give them the freedom to develop and come up with innovative ideas.
▶ Pull out the rotten teeth in the team dentition. Those who are neither able nor willing not only poison the mood, but also block the development of the team.
▶ Consistently train those employees who still lack competence. Form strength/weakness tandems and trust your employees to do something.
▶ Make a serious and sustained effort to win back those employees who no longer want to work. Appreciation is the key to success here.
▶ Be aware that the structure of your organization shapes the balance of power, communication and togetherness. On a global scale, a network structure has evolved where disruptive innovations transform entire industries overnight. Our brains function according to a network structure. Companies that implement just such structures have significantly less difficulty finding good employees and meeting the challenges of the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity und Ambiguity) world more successfully. Traditional organizations that still stick to pyramidal top-down structures are experiencing more and more problems and losing more and more employees. Find the mistake.
▶ Do not assign jobs according to the jack-of-all-trades principle, but according to the hire for attitude & train for skills principle.
▶ Conduct retention interviews.
▶ Create a buffer in the budget to be able to hire good employees directly when they show up. If you have to wait to hire in September, you will not have filled the position next April if the high potential hires somewhere else and no one else shows up.
Sales has long known that it is many times easier to win back former customers than to convince a new one. It is the same with employees.
Christian Bernhardt is a university lecturer for nonverbal communication, communication psychology and communication in the digital space. The author of specialist books gives lectures and hybrid trainings on the topics of recruiting and appreciative communication culture and advises companies in Germany and Switzerland on these topics.
according to a specific curve. Partial bevelling / grooving / shelving
step bevelling, high curve bevelling (partial), smart design feature, safety bevelling
Standard: up to 09 – special: up to 16 (possible limitations based on real front radius, thickness, shape and decentration)
up to 32 up to 200 up to 160 up to 58
Tabletop
With automatic loading
[mm] 1400 x 2555 x 2380
[inch] 55.1 x 100.6 x 93.7
With automatic loading
[mm] 1900 x 2400 x 2350(h)
[inch] 81 x 107 x 93(h)
With automatic loading
With automatic loading [mm] 1665 x 1405 x 2020
65.5 x 55.3 x 79.5
With automatic loading
integrated Tools-Tray Virtual 3D-Lens Simulation
Mini bevel, Step bevelling, High
Curve Bevelling (Partial), Smart Design Feature, Safety bevelling
Total quality control, final inspection
4QC, 4 working & 4 inspection stations, glide meter, silver polishing, automatic calibration, double drive system
Process 4 lenses at the same time, Total quality control, 2 independent edging stations with 2 spindle each, high versatility with the tool changing system, automatic calibration, double drive system, Ionizers to help the scraps evacuation
Manage two jobs per time, quality control, automatic calibration, double drive system
Step bevelling / T-bevelling/ bevelling according to a specific curve/safety bevel
115° standard (100° optional)
Partial beveling / double grooving / partial step back
Rx power, size, axis, prism
Power & axis inspection, polarization, gradient, blank cut-out auto correction / Progressives, single vision FF, edge process engravings
Laser engraving visualizationGraviTech® demo lens tracing
Small 90 mm edging wheels / different safety edging modes / parallax free optical system
Remote access, data supervision, productivity analysis, temperature stabilizer, central thickness verification
Remote access, data supervision, productivity analysis, calibration free design to save time when changing components
Remote access, data supervision, productivity analysis
Manage two jobs per time, quality control, automatic calibration, double drive system
Automatic calibration, double drive system, Immediate lens placement with the integrated lensometer, load right and left lenses at once and wait for the complete process, total quality control
Step bevelling / T-bevelling/ bevelling according to a specific curve/safety bevel
Compact automation system with optional robot unit
Step bevelling, safety bevelling V-Bevel angle
115° standard (100° optional)115° standard (100° optional) 110°
Hybrid finishing (e.g. groove on bevel) Partial beveling / double grooving / partial step back /
Lens inspection (E.g. shapes detection, power, axis ….)
Power & axis inspection, polarization, gradient, blank cutout auto correction
Power & axis inspection, shapes and holes detection,gradient, blank cut-out auto correction o
Automatic laser engravings detectionProgressives, single vision FF, edge process engravings /
Special features
Remote access, data supervision, productivity analysis
Remote access, data supervision, userfriendly interface, active carbon filter
High quality polish and polish safety beveling
Faster grinding with dual spindle system. No need for large capacity air compressor + vacuum unit
Small and medium-sized labs
Medium sized labs
Medium sized labs, mass production
Mineral, CR39, Polycarbonat, Trivex, Tribrid, High Index Plastic, Acrylic Resin CR39, Polycarbonat, Trivex, Tribrid, High Index, Acrylic CR39, Polycarbonat, Trivex, Tribrid, High Index, Acrylic
Compact automation system with optional robot unit
2 independent edging stations. Highest flexibility for complex shapes
4 independent processing stations for highest throughput
Safety bevelling Vertical and inclined bevels (w or w/o polish), groove, rimless (w or w/o polish), safety bevel, t-bevel, step back, design cuts, combinations of bevel types
- 120°
Built-in quality control - Rx power, axis, prism, polar axis, cutout check, power map (full lens inspection)
Possible to grind mineral lens (Depended on wheel type)
Faster grinding with dual spindle system. No need for large capacity air compressor + vacuum unit
Full lens inspection incl. power map; Modulo system integrable; Control Center ready
Optical Machinery. Processing Technology. OptoTech Optikmaschinen GmbH
Sandusweg 2-4 • 35435 Wettenberg/Germany
Tel.: + 49 641/98203-0
eMail: info.de@optotech.net
Web: www.optotech.net
OPTICAL MANUFACTURING SOLUTIONS
Satisloh AG
Neuhofstrasse 12
CH - 6340 Baar / Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0) 41766 16 16
Email: info@satisloh.com satisloh.com
SCHNEIDER GmbH & Co. KG
Biegenstrasse 8–12 · 35112 Fronhausen · Germany
Phone: +49 (64 26) 96 96-0 · Fax: +49 (64 26) 96 96-100
www.schneider-om.com · info@schneider-om.com
SAVINGS FROM STOCK QUALITY & SAVINGS FROM STOCK QUALITY
Machinery
If you could change one thing in the world, what would that be? Right now, stopping the war in Ukraine.
In your opinion, which movie/book should everyone have seen/read?
Hopefully, we all read many and different books. It is so much more interesting.
If your life were to be filmed, which actor should play your role?
Javier Bardem, I hope, but I may end up getting Danny de Vito.
Which celebrity – past or present – would you most like to meet personally, and why?
Isaac Newton, the greatest scientist ever, although I hear he wasn’t so nice as a person.
If you had to do without one of your senses – vision or hearing – which would it be? Hearing. In my line of work it makes more sense.
What is your favorite place in the world? / If you could choose one country to live in, which would it be? I am torn between Spain and California, my two homes.
What was the last event that deeply moved you? Watching my little daughter try so hard in her last cross-country race.
What does a perfect day at work look like to you?
A long, creative R&D meeting with Jose and Antonio, my two cofounding colleagues.
The president of IOT is a physicist by training. He founded IOT with two of his professors from university in 2005 and says it has been fun ever since. The 49-year-old lives in California and Spain. In his free time, he takes every opportunity to pursue his favorite sports: hiking, skiing and tennis.
Which profession did your parents have in mind for you? They probably thought I was going to be a scientist.
If you didn´t do your current job, what else would you do? Any type of R&D job that involved optics, complex algorithms, or simulations.
What is the best thing about your job? My team.
When was the last time you were fed up with your job? When I see customers that don’t care about the quality of their lenses.
What does a new customer mean to you?
A great happiness, and a chance at a long-term relationship full of exciting projects together.
What has annoyed you today? Nothing so far, but it is still early …
In your opinion: which thing is completely overrated? Expensive clothes, but I seem to be the only one in my family with that opinion.
What was the most significant innovation of the last fifty years? The internet, followed very closely by our lenses.
What would you do differently in your next life? I would be braver, trust my instincts and believe more in my chances.
A recent study at The Rockefeller University used a combination of approaches to gain a more holistic understanding of the fly’s visual system. The researchers found out that the fly retinas tracked patterns and made purposeful, jittering side-to-side and up-and-down movements when the insects were viewing a stationary scene, similar to the microsaccades of vertebrates. The scientists think that this could mean that the spontaneous eye movements keep visual neurons from adapting or even improve the resolution of fly vision. Their observations of retinal movement also led them to suspect that flies sweep the viewpoints of their two retinas as a way of judging the distance to a gap in front of them.
The special topic of MAFO 03/2023 is Ophthalmic Optics in Numbers. Find out about market data relevant to the ophthalmic optics industry. The issue will also feature articles and news about other current topics and the market surveys for generators and lens inspection.
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