Integrity Sampling was one of the pioneers of using saliva for conducting drug testing in the workplace and, to this day, is still one of the few companies in Australia to offer saliva drug testing. But, if you’d prefer for your Hobart or Tasmania business to conduct urine drug testing, we do that too.
It’s not that we believe urine drug testing is a better or equivalent to saliva drug testing. In fact, we don’t and you can read why below. But we understand that some Hobart and Tasmania companies and their employees still prefer urine drug testing.
That doesn’t mean, however, that we won’t recommend, encourage and perhaps even prod you to change to saliva drug testing. And that’s because it’s simply a better and more reliable method of testing for drugs.
Urine drug testing v saliva drug testing for your Hobart or Tasmania workplace
- While sample collection for both urine and saliva drug testing is a simple process, collecting saliva is less intrusive and embarrassing for most employees.
- When it comes to testing of the samples, saliva is slightly easier than urine. Integrity Sampling uses the Drager Drug Test 5000 unit, which incidentally is also used by many police forces around Australia and the world to conduct roadside drug testing. Accuracy is more than 99% and results are printable and auditable.
- Testing of saliva samples can be done immediately and results are obtained in less than 5 minutes. Urine samples can also be tested immediately, using a test strip or lab reagent that is dipped into the sample, providing the correct materials and facilities are provided. Otherwise, testing of urine samples will need to be done later, which raises concerns if an employee who is under the influence of drugs isn’t detected for several hours or days.
- Tampering of saliva samples is virtually impossible. While it’s certainly unlikely, it is possible that urine samples can be swapped or tampered with.
- The other key reason why we recommend saliva drug testing over urine drug testing for your Hobart or Tasmania workplace, is what is called the window of detection. This is the time between a person taking a drug and the drug being detectable. For saliva drug testing, the window of detection is relatively short and provides and excellent indication of a person’s ability to work safely. The window of detection for urine is longer – more than 1 or 2 days, depending on the drug taken – and this increases the potential for someone to fail a urine drug test but for all intents and purposes be safe to work.
Still not convinced that saliva drug testing is a better method? Still prefer urine drug testing for your Hobart workplace? Integrity Sampling is still the best business to rely on. We’re NATA accredited, have branches in Hobart Devonport and Launceston and have a 24/7 call out service if required.
See our Hobart drug and alcohol testing services page for more information.