Drug & Alcohol Testing Process
Drug Testing Process
Safety First offer a multi-structured, fully accredited service that provides blood, urine and oral fluid drug testing and lab-based confirmatory services. Safety First are very thorough and systematic in their approach to Drug and Alcohol Testing, they make sure all aspects of the process are correct, including providing a comprehensive Chain of Custody.
A Chain of Custody means that specimen identification and integrity of the sample is maintained throughout the process from collection from the employee through to the testing and then the reporting. These tight processes eliminate the risk of any possibility of tampering or adulteration of the samples. All drug screens must have an employee photo ID provided with them and must be supervised unless the requesting officer permits otherwise. The requesting officer is the name of the person or workplace that has requested that test – as opposed to the person from Safety First who will be supervising the urine collection.
When the chain of custody form is filled out for a urine drug screen collection an employee will be asked to declare any medication that they have recently taken. Employees can have a range of emotions at the time of the drug screening – some will be simply annoyed that they have to do it, others will be fairly neutral about it, while others may seem a little on edge, particularly if they may have something to hide.
The Safety First contractor has guidelines that must followed for the collection to be regarded as valid and an employee is expected to behave in an acceptable manner during the visit and follow the direction of the test. If it arises that there is abusive language or an employee is displaying any threatening or aggressive behavior then this matter will be referred to the organisation and could lead to a referral to the Police.
At the time of the drug screening, an employee will be asked to remove any bulky outer clothing and wash their hands before and after collection. The Safety First Tester will be in the cubicle next door, while the worker produces the sample then the temperature and concentration of the sample is checked, per the Australian Standard guidelines. If the sample fails a temperature or concentration check a worker may be asked to do another sample. The tested sample will then be sealed in the presence of the employee and they will be asked to initial the seal.
The detection of drugs in a worker’s system is vital as there is clear evidence that both a person’s motor coordination skills and/or mental perceptions are adversely affected which makes that worker a major hazard to both themselves and to others they are working with – especially for example, if machinery is being operated. Other health problems and lost productivity are also going to result if the worker continues to use drugs, which poses an even greater risk for the workplace; hence the need for drug testing to take place on a regular basis.
Alcohol Testing Process
Safety First provides alcohol testing services; an employee under the influence of alcohol in the workplace will have impaired motor skills due to their blood concentration levels. Testing for alcohol is best done onsite using a breath analyser – as Safety First is a mobile service they are able to come to worksites and carry out just a test as they have the necessary instrument – which has regular calibration and those operating it have received the appropriate training.