Whether it’s illicit drugs or misuse of prescribed drugs, drugs are a significant issue in all parts of society and the workplace is certainly no different. In fact, the Australian Drug Foundation estimates the use of drugs and alcohol is costing Australian workplaces $5.2 billion a year, due to lost productivity and employee absenteeism.
Implementing a rigorous workplace drug testing program, as part of a wider occupational health and safety program, is a vital tool in reducing the risks to workplaces of drugs. As well as improving safety and safeguarding your business, workplace drug testing can help you improve absenteeism and productivity, and reduce crime and violence in your workplace.
Integrity Sampling’s accredited technicians conduct workplace drug testing for clients as required, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. Our people are experts in drug testing processes and use the most advanced testing devices and equipment available. This ensures testing accuracy of greater than 99%. Our testing programs are effective, fast and unobtrusive.
Saliva drug testing
If you suspect that an employee may be under the influence of drugs, you want to know now, not days later when the danger to the employee and others has passed.
Integrity Sampling is one of the few Australian companies to offer saliva drug testing for workplaces. Saliva drug testing (or oral fluid drug testing) has several advantages over traditional urine testing methods.
Advantages of saliva drug testing
- Drug testing using saliva is quick, with results available in as little as 5 minutes. This reduces downtime and allows more people to be tested. Compare this with laboratory based urine testing, where results can take days rather than minutes.
- Saliva drug testing is non-intrusive and can be done virtually anywhere. Urine testing needs restroom facilities and, for some people, can make them feel uncomfortable.
- Testing using saliva is accurate. In fact, using the Drager 5000 drug testing unit results of 99% accuracy rate and greater are achieved.
- Saliva drug testing has been approved as a preferred method over urine drug testing by Fair Work Australia.
- The detection period for urine is greater than it is for saliva. This potentially means, for example, a person who took a drug 1 or 2 days before work and is able to perform their job safely could return a positive result using urine drug testing. This is why saliva drug testing is considered a more accurate way of determining if someone is fit to be at work.
Saliva drug testing equipment
Integrity are the exclusive Australian workplace testing provider for the Drager Drug Test 5000 for its saliva drug testing. This device is similar to the units being used by law enforcement agencies in Australia and globally. The DragerDrugTest 5000 was independently verified by the NATA accredited Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and found to be compliant with the new standard AS/NZS 4760:2019. This new Australian/New Zealand Standard 4760 was released in March 2019, making the Dräger DrugTest® 5000 one of the first products to have been verified. German engineered and produced, the product was found to be compliant for the drug classes Amphetamines, Methamphetamines, Cannabinoids, Opiates and Cocaine.
Urine drug testing
While we believe saliva drug testing is the best method for testing for drugs, we understand that there are businesses that prefer urine testing, so we can undertake urine testing at your facility if you prefer.
Drug and alcohol testing methodology
Pre-employment drug and alcohol testing
Testing is conducted before employment or prior to a promotion.
Cause drug and alcohol testing
Cause testing is used when an employee’s fitness for work is questioned.
Incident drug and alcohol testing
Testing is undertaken following an incident, accident or near miss.
Random drug and alcohol testing
Random drug and alcohol testing is implemented on any given day or time.
