When businesses decide to implement workplace drug and alcohol testing, they often face a significant challenge: selecting the most effective and accurate testing methods. With a variety of options available, it can be overwhelming for the uninitiated to determine the best approach.
What equipment should businesses use for their workplace drug and alcohol testing? Can you conduct your own drug and alcohol testing? Is urine drug testing or saliva drug testing more reliable?
If you’re a workplace owner or manager, we’ll answer questions like these in this blog, helping you make informed decisions on the best way forward.
Importance of accurate and reliable drug and alcohol testing
In some cases, businesses head to their local pharmacy or online to purchase cheap breathalysers and drug test kits to conduct their drug and alcohol testing. However, this can leave these businesses vulnerable to inaccurate and unreliable testing.
Accuracy and reliability are paramount when it comes to workplace drug and alcohol testing. The consequences of inaccurate testing can be significant. On the one hand, there’s the potential for false positives, where employees test positive for drugs or blow over the limit for alcohol when in fact they aren’t. On the other hand, there’s also the potential for false negatives, where employees test negative to drugs or blow under the limit when in fact they are under the influence and shouldn’t be working.
Inaccurate and unreliable drug and alcohol testing can cause significant issues in the workplace. It can impact employee relations and legal compliance. Most of all, it can have a negative impact on safety, which is the very reason most businesses want to implement drug and alcohol testing in the first place.
Therefore, it is crucial to use equipment for your drug and alcohol testing that is accurate and reliable and meets the required standards.
For alcohol testing, a professional-grade breathalyser is essential. These devices are designed to provide accurate measurements of blood alcohol content (BAC). They are more reliable than consumer-grade models available at pharmacies or online. A good example is the Dräger Alcotest 6000.
For drug testing, it’s important to use equipment that adheres to the appropriate Australian Standards. This ensures the tests are reliable, valid and legally defensible. When it comes to Integrity Sampling’s workplace drug testing, the equipment we use is the Dräger DrugTest 5000 and Dräger DrugCheck 3000. Accuracy has been independently evaluated to be greater than 99%. It’s also compliant with the new Australian and New Zealand Standards.
Can workplaces conduct their own drug and alcohol testing?
While it is possible to conduct your own workplace drug and alcohol testing, Integrity Sampling strongly recommends utilising professional services.
Our technicians are fully trained and accredited, ensuring compliance with Australian Standards. We only use the best technology and practices, making the process cost-effective and reliable.
If you really want to conduct your own in-house testing, we can provide the necessary equipment (like the Dräger DrugCheck 3000 and the Dräger Alcotest 6000). We can also provide training and ongoing support to ensure your testing program is effective and meets all regulatory requirements. In some instances – for example your workplace is in a remote location – this is the best solution.
Saliva or urine drug testing?
Another common question we get asked at Integrity Sampling is whether using saliva or urine samples to conduct drug testing is better? The answer is simple.
While urine sampling was the traditional method used for workplace drug testing, saliva sampling is far superior. Here’s why.
- Saliva testing is a non-invasive method that is easy to administer. Unlike urine testing, which can be uncomfortable and requires privacy, saliva tests can be conducted in virtually any environment without the need for special facilities. This convenience makes saliva testing particularly suited for workplaces.
- One of the significant advantages of saliva testing is the speed of results. Saliva tests can provide immediate feedback, typically within a few minutes. This rapid turnaround time is extremely beneficial for workplaces. Most importantly, it allows a workplace to determine whether an employee is safe or unsafe to be in the workplace within minutes.
- Saliva tests are effective at detecting recent drug use. This is particularly useful for identifying employees who are impaired by drugs during work hours. Urine tests, on the other hand, have a longer detection window. Therefore, they may not accurately reflect current impairment.
- Saliva testing is more resistant to tampering compared to urine testing. The collection process is directly observed, reducing the likelihood of sample adulteration or substitution. This ensures the integrity of the test results.
- If you use saliva testing equipment that meets the stringent Australian Standards, testing is accurate, reliable and legally defensible. This compliance is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the testing process. It’s important to note that any non-negative result must still be backed up with lab analysis before a positive test is confirmed.
More questions about workplace drug and alcohol testing?
Hopefully this content has provided you with some of the answers to the questions you have on workplace drug and alcohol testing. If you have any more questions, see our page on implementing drug and alcohol testing or contact us.
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If you’re implementing workplace drug and alcohol testing, it can be overwhelming and difficult to determine the best approach.
