A&R: Making the invisible visible

Almost every optical lab in the world has at least one inspection machine from Automation & Robotics (A&R). Every day, 1,500,000 spectacle lenses worldwide are inspected by the manufacturer’s machines and just recently they included one innovative feature more: the automatic cosmetic inspection of lenses. However, in order to stay one step ahead in the future, the manufacturer is also focusing on further strategies: the power of data, an innovative corporate concept and keeping a close eye on the development of smart glasses. During our visit to Belgium MAFO also spoke to the CEO about his big dreams and why the current market situation is not just producing winners.

“At A&R, we have a dream: to leave behind a world in good health, driven by a collective quest in which everyone gives their best”, is the first prominent sentence on the company website. That made us curious. We have planned to visit the machine manufacturer A&R in Verviers (Belgium) at the end of September and already had high expectations of the engineering skills on show there. After all, the Belgians are experts in process automation in ophthalmic optics. One particular focus is the development of measuring devices for lens inspection. But big dreams? A healthy world? We are curious to see what awaits us.

“It is good to pack, but wouldn’t it be better to control first?”

41 years ago, in 1983, A&R was founded by two engineers, Christian Closset and Michel Montulet. Initially, the entrepreneurs focused on automation in general and produced products for the food industry, for example.

The pioneers only dared to take the first step in the direction of ophthalmic optics following an inquiry from what is today, Hoya Belgium. The lens manufacturer was looking for a machine to pack stock lenses. “Ok, we can do that”, the founders replied spontaneously, but not without giving a crucial hint: “It’s good to pack, but wouldn’t it be better to control first? To make sure what you pack is what you were expecting?”

This was the birth of A&R’s current core market: inspection machines for the ophthalmic lens industry. Today, they come in all sizes, with a wide variety of functions and are so perfectly designed that they can be found in almost every lab in the world.

All expertise united in Belgium

Overall, however, the range of machines includes much more. For example, the company produces automation systems, packaging machines, storage systems, equipment for printing spectacle lenses and systems for laser engraving, and much more.

On the way past the offices, we were able to catch a glimpse of the various departments. All of the machine manufacturer’s competencies are united here in Belgium. From research and development, product design, marketing and sales, administrative tasks, programming, to installation and aftercare, and of course the large assembly department ‒ which we will take a closer look at later. The distances here are short, and all skills are united in one place.

The company has around 180 employees worldwide, most of them work in Belgium. But the team also maintains worldwide subsidiaries in Thailand, the US and a tooling workshop in China. For other parts of the world, they work with local agents on site.

Employees hold shares in the company

But now we are interested in what exactly makes the company concept so unique. CEO Provost is happy to explain this in more detail: “One specificity we have is that parts of the company are owned by the employees”. The employees hold 34% of the company shares.

This is because company founder Closset did not want to hand the company over to a financial group. He was convinced that not only his personal work, but that of each individual employee, contributed to the success of the company. The very special mindset in the company should be protected. Closset therefore decided: “Let’s go crazy and see whether we can sell the company to the employees to keep the spirit of the plan”.

Provost makes no secret of the fact that this business handover was a major challenge: “But we did it!” he announces with visible pride. And the company founder Closset is still Chairman of the Board today, even though he no longer has an operational role in the company.

A circular organization but still no democracy

But how exactly can such a system work? At first glance, one might think that there are no hierarchies in the company. But it is not quite that simple, Provost explains: “In one way you are right, it’s not anymore, a hierarchical organization, with different departments, hierarchical levels and so on. It is more a circular organization, but it is still not a democracy!”

This means that not every shareholder automatically has a say. Many still act as employees, but they receive all the information that board members would also receive. Furthermore, the focus of the company should not be on the CEO, but on the customer. To this end, cross-divisional teams are formed that cover all areas of expertise.

“We say if you need a machine, we need sales people, people from engineering and from production. Then we build groups of people that take care of this task all together. Those people share a common goal, which is to make sure that the customer gets his machine on time with all the according training, installation and more that he or she needs,” explains Provost.

People from all areas also sit at the same table when it comes to long-term plans for corporate strategy, etc. Provost describes the approach as a bottom-up approach rather than a top-down approach. “The aim is to use the strengths of the people who have a lot of contact with different customers or on the market”.

This answers the question of how to keep employees motivated and think outside the box. Company shares and the circular organization should ensure that everyone gives their best and that the focus is always on the customer. This is because employees can participate in decision-making within the scope of their abilities and achieve more than if they were only assigned to a closed department.

That still leaves the question of improving the world. But before we delve into this rather philosophical topic, let’s take a look at measurable facts one floor below.

Like on a carousel

The stairs lead down to the factory halls. We arrive at lunchtime of all times and can therefore take our time to look at the machines ‒ and what will one day become machines. First, we go through the design department and the tooling workshop. A&R produces most of its machined components in China, but if things need to be done quickly or for prototypes, CNC machines are also running in Belgium.

These areas are followed by the warehouse, where just enough components are kept ensuring that customers can always get replacements quickly.

All the individual parts are assembled in the next hall. For once, you can get a glimpse directly into the machines and see components that are otherwise hidden by the housing.

You can get an idea of the detailed process steps by looking into the MCEVS machine for the controlling and packaging of stock lenses for example. “This type of machines has actually been running reliably for more than 30 years, but they have evolved regularly to meet new market needs. For example, the cosmetic inspection should be integrated soon,” Fonticoli explains.

The inside of the machine is set up like a carousel with different stations. At each station various aspects of the lens are inspected: diameter, thickness (contactless) and power. The power is measured using the Focovision, a globally recognized instrument, to ensure compliance with ISO/ANSI standards.

There are currently two free stations. One of these is to be equipped with cosmetic inspection in the near future. The other station will include a Dual Spectrometer, where the color will be measured using transmission. The type of AR coating will also be identified based solely on the reflection.

Once all measurements have been completed in these stations, a label is printed and applied on the envelope, and finally the lens is even packaged fully automatically. The envelope is secured thanks to the label.

Power mapping thanks to reflection and transmission

In the end, it is always about one thing: making the invisible data in the lens visible. In the case of machines for analyzing progressive surfaces, the analysis is even more accurate, so that the distribution of power becomes visible in the form of mountains and valleys, similar to a topographical map.

In step one, a camera is used to find the micro engravings and thereby determining the exact position of the lens. Then the entire lens surface is measured in transmission and reflection. From this, an algorithm calculates a comparison of the actual measured power distribution compared to the theoretical power distribution that the lens should have. The result is the so called “Error Map”.

The future is here: cosmetic inspection

The automatic cosmetic inspection appears to be the last missing step in the total lens inspection process proposed by A&R. COSME is the name of the new technology developed by IOT and A&R. Thanks to this collaboration, both companies could combine their specific expertise in the best possible way.

Two prototypes of the ProMapper with integrated cosmetic inspection are already in operation. The well-known and compact table-top inspection device will be equipped with a cosmetic inspection unit as standard in the future, as well as the NeoMapper and the AutoMapper.

The future of inspection therefore offers an all-round package consisting of automatic positioning, contactless thickness measurement, power measurement, mapping inspection and cosmetic inspection (detection of dust, scratches, polishing residues and much more). The machines, combining all functions can be installed at different locations in production.

One challenge at the moment is to define certain standards. Until now, cosmetic control has been carried out entirely by people. It is therefore necessary to replicate their “standards”, some of which are subjective and often based on decades of experience, to a certain extent. “If you want to define the right technology and the right way to tackle those challenges, you need to start with the customer. You need to start from the knowledge they build over time,” explains Fonticoli.

From all these different values, from power mapping to cosmetic inspection, a lot of data can be derived that enables statistical process control and, as a result, preventive maintenance of the production machines. A topic that will become increasingly relevant in the future.

In the meantime, employees are returning from their well-earned break and getting down to work. They are screwing, soldering, measuring and checking again and again. Even our questions, the camera and our curious glances into the machine do not disturb the experienced technicians.

Passing the Research and Development department, we head to the manufacturing of instruments department. Various ProMappers are lined up here. Individual parts for the automatic machines, such as those for thickness measurement, are also produced here.

Finally, we climb the stairs again and catch a bird’s eye view of the hustle and bustle in the machine hall before sitting down for lunch and learning more about the market situation and the CEO’s dreams.

“The future is a red ocean, where everyone eats each other”

For over 40 years, the machine manufacturer had virtually no competition in the lens inspection sector ‒ but that is changing now. Not because new companies are conquering the market, but because many traditional machine manufacturers in the ophthalmic optics sector are expanding their business areas. Automatic cosmetic inspection, in particular, is currently an absolute trend among machine suppliers.

Clear roles and responsibilities that have existed for years are becoming increasingly blurred – a situation that, according to Provost, is hardly producing any winners: “In the past it was a blue ocean, because all companies were really good at one specific thing. Now everyone wants to offer the complete set. Which means that they are all getting more and more into a red ocean. But that means they are eating each other! It’s a fight with price to gain market,” analyzes the CEO.

However, it is clear to him that A&R will not jump on this trend: “We will not say tomorrow we provide an all-in-one solution, you can buy a lab and we do everything. We don’t have the knowledge for that, and we are not willing to go there,” Provost adds with conviction.

Instead, the focus here is on other strategies. Apparently, with success, as the company is growing steadily, both in terms of turnover and the number of employees.

Capture the value of data

According to Fonticoli, success also comes from new ways of thinking and a different focus. After all, the approach of “only” separating good lenses from bad ones is no longer everything.

Instead, many are concerned with process monitoring and the value of the data: “You can do a lot with the data that the inspection machine provides. That’s why we’re trying to capture the value of the machines as a source of data, which provides a lot of know-how that can help our customers react before they produce bad lenses. That’s a huge change compared to a machine that just sorts the good and the bad parts. It’s more about the predictive aspect,” explains Fonticoli.

It becomes clearly: data is the new gold. And data also brings us to the philosophical conclusion of the visit and the dream of a better world that Laurent Provost would like to make a reality.

The dreamer

“If I am allowed to dream, I would imagine a place where you can use all the data, from all the machines, from all key players – just put the data on table. That would have a huge impact on the planet. Think about the environmental aspect: all of the lenses that are being thrown away, every day, worldwide. That’s a nightmare!”

Assuming that around 5% of lenses are discarded during production due to inadequate quality and taking into account the 1,500,000 lenses that are checked by A&R machines alone every day, this means that over 27,000,000 lenses are thrown away every year. An incredible waste of resources, energy and money.
Theoretically, waste in the lab would be significantly reduced if all the data from the machines were read out and analyzed as a whole. Such a process analysis would be extremely efficient. All problems could be tackled at the root.

If you then look, as Provost does, at the shortage of glasses worldwide, it becomes clear how urgently glasses are actually needed elsewhere: “There are many people who cannot afford to buy glasses, that they need to get education, to see, to read and for many other things, because they are too expensive. But we throw 5% to 10% away. And even if we buy them: after two months we say, oh ‒ I’d like to have another shape, another design and we don’t use it.”

Provost likes to philosophize about what it would be like if all global players joined forces unselfishly. If they shared a vision of a better world in order to solve global problems: eye health and the provision of aids for all people or environmental protection. It is the reason why his colleagues and employees like to call Provost the “dreamer”.

But Provost himself knows best that many things will probably only ever remain a dream: “To have the brain, with all the data, would have so much value. But each of us is trying to protect themselves and the value is not in the machine. The value is in the data ‒ in many businesses”.

What is important to stay in the game?

Of course, Provost himself also has tangible goals to keep A&R robust and remain at the forefront in the future. Technologies such as smart glasses are an important topic, for example. This is also about what technology is needed to ensure the quality of future products.

“The biggest challenge today is to look beyond what we offer today. To see what the trends are and make sure we have the right technology to support those trends. I think that today we control a lens itself, but tomorrow we need to develop the ability to control a complete product”, concludes the CEO.