CAD/CAM Changing Roles, Not Eliminating Staff

By LMT Communications, Inc.

Posted Apr 28, 2011 in LMT Surveys


Technicians who think CAD/CAM technology means they'll be replaced by machines can rest easy. Automation has not changed the size of the average laboratory's workforce, but instead is shifting responsibilities between departments and allowing managers to better utilize experienced technicians for more specialized tasks. The majority of respondents to LMT's 2008 Wage survey--78%--say technicians who operate their CAD/CAM systems also still work at the bench.



"Except for the obvious change of using a new tool (computer) to work in a virtual world, rather than traditional tools (wax pen and carving instruments) to work in the real world, it's been a fairly even trade," says Steve Killian, Killian Dental Ceramics, Irvine, California. "Because we've converted many PFM cases to zirconia cases, we trained two of our lost wax/metal technicians to be CAD/CAM technicians." In fact, waxers have become the logical choice for CAD/CAM operators in many laboratories...

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  • LMT Communications, Inc.

    LMT Communications delivers the business strategies, information, dental laboratory news and education that dental laboratory decision-makers need to succeed. In Print. In Person. Online.

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