Onsite Drug and Alcohol Testing: For Healthy Workforce

Employee Drug Test

A common business strategy heard in boardrooms across Australia centers on engineering  ”leaner” more efficient business operations. On first look, this seems to be a rather prudent if not blatantly obvious piece of business advice: running wasteful inefficient operations just doesn’t make “good business sense”. However, there is a caveat to this advice when it relates to OHS.

Essentially, when dealing with workplace occupational health and safety issues, “efficiency” should never lead to “cutting corners”. Instead, while not a direct profit center, OHS should be viewed as a vital feature of good and economical risk management policy (which  ultimately leads to business cost savings and increased profits through minimising workplace injuries and averting potential environmental and other disasters).

To help reduce costly workplace accidents in your business or organisation, the following list outlines simple, cost-effective OHS measures you can start implementing today, including:

Compiling and implementing comprehensive safety policies

Providing adequate medical first-aid and worker’s compensation systems

Ensuring there is an OHS specialist area within your human resources department or a strong OHS committee

Provision of OHS training, safety awareness, prevention and/ or an OHS education program for all staff levels

Implementing fire drills and regular professional workplace safety audits

Issuing protective clothing and equipment commensurate to occupational risks

Instituting safety incentives and prevention systems

Installing effective protocols for accident investigation (and the ongoing analysis of accident and injury statistics)

Outsourcing specialist OHS functions such as onsite drug and alcohol testing.

Overall, workplace safety is one important business area that needs proper resourcing and expertise to ensure it not only enhances business’ overriding strategic direction, but also capably implements its legal “duty of care” imperative. In this sense, not only does good OHS management improve business performance, but it averts costly legal penalties incurred for non-compliance. That in itself should justify why OHS should remain a key focus and investment area of your business.

Onsite Drug And Alcohol Testing : Better Outsourcing Options Ever

Drug Testing Methods

“It is no longer sufficient merely to have an [occupational health and safety] policy in place. Rather, the policy must be rigorous, constantly reinforced, evaluated and updated to suit the changing needs of the workplace, society and evolving case law.” A Peart, (2000).  HR Monthly, October, pp.44-5.

The cost of industrial injuries and disease to Australian industry has been estimated to be around $57.5 billion. For example:

1. The Federal Government estimated the cost of work-related injury and disease to workers, their employer, the community and the Australian economy amounted to $57.5 billion during 2005-2006 (equivalent to 5.9 per cent gross domestic product).

2. Approximately $6.3 billion was paid to workers compensation schemes during 2007-08.

With these statistics in mind, it’s understandable why OHS is a growing area of concern for businesses. With the high costs of occupational injuries, disease and accidents to the employee, employers and the community, businesses have become more receptive to OHS rationale, systems, processes and innovations.

To help guide OHS and HR managers in steering their workplace OHS policies, many professions have contributed to redefining and improving OHS approaches, including: occupational epidemiologists, industrial hygienists, ergonomists, industrial psychologists, medical professionals, occupational sociologists, management, unions and the legal profession. As the OHS manager or HR manager, the chief task is to coordinate these different professional interest groups so that the OHS strategy is implemented into a seamless and cost-effective operation. However, due to ever changing OHS legislature and ongoing developments in new specialty fields and methodologies, this can often prove to be a difficult task to administer consistently alongside usual HR/ OHS “housekeeping” operations. It is primarily for this reason that the outsourcing of certain HR/ OHS services has become a preferred option for many businesses.

One area of OHS which has become more pronounced in the modern workplace relates to occupational drug & alcohol testing.  A potentially complex area of OHS,  many OHS and HR professionals from Australia’s leading companies have utilised the onsite drug screening services of organisations such as Mediscreen™. What makes services as those delivered by Mediscreen™ particularly attractive to Australian businesses is their clear aim to deliver a professionally managed workplace solution to deter/ minimise the misuse of drug and alcohol at the workplace.

Essentially, outsourced drug and alcohol screening services provide their clients with drug and alcohol testing services that are:

A. Up-to-date

B. Aligned to best practice models

C. Legally compliant

D. Consistently managed

E. Accurately recorded

F. Delivered with screening expertise

G. A long term cost-effective solution

H. Able to provide third party objectivity and an independent witness (in the case of positive test results).

I. A confidential service.

All in all, Mediscreen’s™ services are professionally aligned to current OHS legislative approaches (i.e. more self-regulatory, educative and cautionary), which helps to foster attitudes that are conducive to safer workplaces through an emphasis on occupational “wellness” and legal compliance.