TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS PRODUCTS & SERVICES
Drugs and alcohol at work – is your company protected? W
ith an increasing emphasis on a company’s responsibility to ensure its employees are fit for work, and the UK Government clamping down on drink and drug drivers, businesses are now being urged more than ever before to ensure that they are adopting best practice health and safety procedures for drugs and alcohol misuse in the workplace. Anyone with residual alcohol in their body is SIX times more likely to have an accident – not just driving a vehicle, but operating machinery such as forklifts, cranes or cutting equipment. According to the Department for Transport drugs and alcohol cost, British businesses in excess of £6 billion per year in lost productivity and a third of employers say alcohol and drug misuse is a problem at work. On top of this there is also the potential damage to a business’s reputation should they be held accountable for an employee’s wrongdoing. However, with the plethora of testing equipment and information on offer, it is not always easy to know where to start with implementing an effective drugs and alcohol testing policy. Suzannah Robin is Operations Director with alcohol and drug safety expert at AlcoDigital. She works with dozens of corporate and governmental organisations addressing their alcohol and drug testing needs. For the last 22 years, she has helped numerous businesses to implement their drug and alcohol testing policies for their staff through certified training programmes. These include the correct use of safety equipment, accurately interpreting results and spotting the different signs and symptoms of drug and alcohol misuse. She said, “We have helped companies in many different industry sectors to implement robust alcohol and drug policies and one of the things that concerns all of them from the outset is how their employees
are going to react to a new testing policy being introduced.”
result proves positive, to testing employees before shifts with a handheld digital device.”
“Of course, there may be some reluctance from employees so companies should always communicate clearly with their staff before introducing new policies so that they can fully understand the rationale behind them and what the potential consequences of a positive test will be.”
“Other companies may find it more beneficial to implement a random screening procedure to act as a deterrent – this is especially useful if daily testing is not possible or suitable.”
So what makes a good alcohol and drug testing policy? Suzannah says it all depends on how the company operates, “If a company has staff working on heavy machinery or they employ commercial drivers then we would recommend regular testing – this could be anything from fitting an interlock breathalyzer (such as the new Drivealyzer) to a vehicle, which will immobilise the engine if the
If implemented effectively drug and alcohol policies can help to reduce absenteeism, increase worker productivity and improve customer satisfaction. “We have found that regular random testing of employees for drugs and alcohol has resulted in significant benefits for improving safety and safeguarding businesses from the potential fallout of lost revenue and reputational damage,” says Suzannah. “However, many more companies, particularly those in the transport industry or those operating heavy machinery, need to do more to improve standards not just for the safety of their employees but to protect the general public as well.”
AlcoDigital provides free consultations for companies looking to implement drug and alcohol policies. Please call: +44 (0)208 454 7372 to book an appointment. To buy online, please visit AlcoDigital’s online store, breathalyzer.co.uk for the full range of Alcohol and Drug testing equipment and consumables. For Online and Onsite Training, visit: AlcoDigital. academy. For Vehicle Alcohol Interlocks, go to: Drivealyzer.co.uk – and for the latest cloudbased technology with Facial Recognition offering completely unsupervised, round-theclock, remote testing, visit: WorkSober.co.uk Please visit: alcodigital.co.uk
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