Originally published by PBC Today.
PJ Hegarty Construction has adopted an innovative fingerprint drug testing technology across a number of its UK sites
The building & civil engineering contractor will use Intelligent Fingerprinting’s non-invasive fingerprint drug testing – which uses sweat technology – for employee drug screening.
Using ten sweat samples, the fingerprint drug testing technology can screen for recent use of cannabis, cocaine, opiates and methamphetamine and provide a positive or negative result on-screen on-site within ten minutes.
PJ Hegarty will use fingerprint drug testing across a number of UK sites with the potential to be used on various projects for HS2.
Encourage adherence to drug and alcohol policies
Narinder Singh Lall, EHS advisor at PJ Hegarty & Sons UK Ltd said: “We needed an in-house drug test, so compared the innovative fingerprint sweat method with more traditional saliva swabs.
“From PJ Hegarty’s perspective, Intelligent Fingerprinting proved a clear winner thanks to immediate on-site results, and the ability to collect samples without the need for specialist collection areas or medically trained personnel.
“We also found the Intelligent Fingerprinting approach was highly visual, offering a proactive deterrent to those seeking employment as well as an incentive to our existing workforce to encourage adherence to our drug and alcohol policy.
“Random fingerprint drug testing is a fantastic solution and, not surprisingly, is rapidly becoming best practice in the construction sector. We’ve heard of other organisations using it and, by adopting it, PJ Hegarty sends a clear signal – to both prospective employees as well as the rest of the industry – that we’re serious about providing a quality service and leading within the construction industry to adopt new technologies to further strengthen best practices in the areas of health and safety.”
A growing number of companies have adopted fingerprint drug testing
Terry Elvin, Intelligent Fingerprinting account manager for PJ Hegarty, added: “Fingerprint drug testing is fast becoming best practice in the construction sector – tests can be managed in-house by a company’s HR or Health & Safety Manager – whenever required and, costs can be tightly controlled.
“With a growing number of companies rapidly adopting the test – including Hayfield Homes, Stonbury and MPB Structures – safety officers in the construction industry are realising that Intelligent Fingerprinting helps them deliver their drug testing obligations as simply and effectively as possible.
“It feels great to be able to offer a solution that not only makes workplaces safer but also makes it much easier for HR teams to deliver on their health and safety obligations.”
