Within TLS, we have a range of diverse and skilled teams. A majority of our team are technicians within their departments. Perhaps the most obvious one is the rehousing technician, as well as our servicing technicians. At TLS, we pride ourselves on the quality of the products we produce, therefore we aim to control every step of the process, from the initial design, through manufacture, assembly to QC and shipping. Therefore, we also have engineering technicians as we have our own machine shop in house to manufacture our components. Additionally, we have our finishing and engraving technicians too. Therefore, the length of time to train a technician is not an easy answer. Here is a brief overview of the tasks involved from each area.

Rehousing technician tasks

Within the rehousing team, the technicians are responsible for:

1. Disassembling the lens to be rehoused
2. Cleaning of all optical components and iris blades (if being reused)
3. Re-assembly of the lens cell(s)
4. Assembling the lens cells into our new metalwork
5. Assembling the lens
6. Setting up the image for best optical performance
7. Marking up the T-scale and focus scale
8. Final checks on the lens before QC

Servicing team tasks

Within the servicing team, the technicians are responsible for:

1. Optical and mechanical servicing of high-end broadcast and cine lenses
2. Complete disassembly of a wide variety of lenses
3. Cleaning of all components and replacing damage where required
4. Reassembly and calibration to within manufacturers specifications
5. Edge-blacking of elements, separation and re-cementing doublets, de-yellowing optics
6. All assessment work for both service and rehousing
7. All QC work for both service and rehousing

Finishing/Engraving team tasks

Within the finishing/engraving team, the technicians are responsible for:

1. Picking and prepping all components for rehousing
2. Building and checking carriers
3. Engraving all necessary components
4. Filling the engraving with paint
5. Reassembly of the lens
6. Setting iris stops
7. Final full build of rehoused lens

Machine shop team tasks

Within the machine shop team, the technicians are responsible for:

1. Machining all components for our lenses, including programming, setting and operating the CNC machines
2. Working with a variety of different high-grade materials
3. Keeping the correct amount of material in stock
4. Making sure the rehousing components are always in stock
5. QC checks to make sure the tight tolerances are achieved
6. Overseeing the anodising process, including QC checks
7. Prioritising prototype components on small batch quantities

Training time

Let’s start with a scenario where we have a complete novice. We’ve often supported staff from the very early stages of their career, including many who have had little to no mechanical experience before. In these instances, it is about one-to-one training ‘on the job’. In the rehousing, servicing and finishing departments, there are very few other jobs that have these skills. Therefore, we offer bespoke training to every new technician. We start with the basics and as confidence and knowledge builds, we progress them through the framework to become competent technicians and beyond.

In most cases, this process will take between 6-18 months until the technician is competent enough to become a technician and drop the ‘trainee’ from their title. This means that we put a huge amount of effort into our recruitment process to make sure we have the right candidates. It’s such a labour-intensive process; we make sure we give every new start the best opportunity to succeed.

There have been occasions where we’ve recruited skilled technicians. This is easier to do in a recognised field such as within the engineering machine shop. Although, we have success recruiting skilled technicians into servicing and rehousing. This has required us to extend our search to pull in talent from different countries from around the world. This also has the advantage of increasing diversity within the company and exposing us to new experiences and opportunities.

In this scenario, the training time is relatively shorter (3-6 months). Though there is still a period where one-to-one training is put in place to teach them our ways and standards, they must meet our quality criteria. All training is done in-house as there are little options that support such a niche skill.

At TLS, we support our staff with industry training events to continue their development. This keeps us up to date with the latest technology and lenses that need service/repair. We also offer regular training within the machine shop to make better efficiency of the equipment being used.

Although this is a brief overview, it gives some indication of the time and resource that goes into training a technician for TLS. If you’d like to know more, please email sales@truelens.co.uk.

Join the TLS Family

If you’re interested in the challenge of becoming a skilled technician at TLS, please keep up to date by signing up to our newsletter and checking on the website periodically. Alternatively, you can send your CV and cover letter in to hr@truelens.co.uk for us to hold on file.