What happens when you try to do your job but have very little visibility?
The dental hygienist flicked the switch on the overhead lamp and nothing happened. The bulb had finally burnt out after 4+ years. So now what?
The hygienist had never changed a bulb before so she went and got a co-worker who located a replacement.
That person wasn't sure how to change the bulb because it had been a long time since she had to do it.
While I was sitting in the chair I offered to do it. I'm mechanically inclined and the lamp housing and bulb were similar to other things I've fixed before.
In a about 3 minutes we had light again and this is what I found really interesting.
The hygenist said "It's so bright now, I can see so much more. I never realized how dim the other bulb was before"
My brain was spinning around this.
- How long had the bulb been deteriorating?
- How many people didn't get the best cleaning because of a dim bulb?
- If the bulb hadn't burnt out would I have had a less than adequate cleaning?
- What is the standard for testing the luminescence of dental chair lamp bulb?
- How many other jobs/industries have this same issue but don't realize it?
What's my take away from all this.
- Without a standard you can't tell when something begins to deteriorate
- If you can't see a problem you can't fix it
- Preventative maintenance should always be done...especially on CTQ (Critical to Quality) equipment
- Next time I clean the house make sure I have exceptional lighting when I do it and my wife has poor lighting when she checks my work.
For those of you interested in dental lamps and how bright they can/should be I've attached this pdf with illuminated teeth images from a company called Sirona that produces halogen and LED lights.
