September 2007 (Saginaw, MI) – The safety eyeglass program of a large Midwest manufacturer employing 34,000 hourly workers, as well as salaried personnel at 40 manufacturing sites in multiple states, was inefficient, expensive and lacked accountability in large measure because each of the 40 sites purchased its glasses locally. Quality and cost standards were not consistent and oversight was difficult.
After an extensive search, the manufacturer selected Hi-Tech Optical, Inc. (Saginaw, MI) as the best qualified vendor to consolidate and standardize a company-wide prescription program. Hi-Tech Optical designed and developed a unique Safety Eyeglass Eligibility System (SEES) to manage program utilization.
SEES controls costs, takes personnel out of the day-to-day program management and allows exception overrides by authorized personnel. SEES is operated through the telephone system or Web site and can be accessed 24 hours per day. SEES also allowed the manufacturer to determine the eligibility requirements for their employees glasses and monitors all company employees for compliance. Employees are no longer able to receive multiple pairs of glasses outside of company guidelines.
The manufacturer booked first year savings of $400,000.00 and realized $306,000.00 of additional savings in year two from its ongoing relationship with Hi-Tech Optical, Inc.