ParkerSteel Limited, a leading UK steel stockholder and processor working with manufacturing and construction firms, is deploying fingerprint drug testing as part of its continual health and safety initiatives.

ParkerSteel will use Intelligent Fingerprinting‘s drug screening system to encourage adherence to the company’s drug safety policy by employees, including HGV drivers in charge of up to 40-tonne steel loads.

The fingerprint drug test analyses fingertip sweat to screen for cannabis, cocaine, opiates and methamphetamine, identifying potential drug use within around 16 hours prior to the test. This is the timeframe within which illicit drug use is most likely to affect employees’ fitness for duty, potentially putting themselves, their colleagues and the general public at risk. Results are available on the spot in ten minutes, with high levels of accuracy.

ParkerSteel is also making full use of the fingerprint-based system’s flexibility as part of its ongoing testing regime by carrying out testing for new employee induction, random, just cause and post incident. The portable fingerprint test will replace the company’s previous use of urine tests.

ParkerSteel has recognised the versatility of fingerprint-based drug testing to find new ways to encourage adherence to its drug safety policy. The fact that the test enables rapid in-house testing without special facilities or specialist staff not only saves time and money but also helps ensure truly random testing. In addition, the portability of the Intelligent Fingerprinting test method allows ParkerSteel to test drivers at the depot or during non-driving time, meaning there’s no impact on productivity.

Intelligent Fingerprinting’s simple fingerprint-based sweat test takes around 10 minutes to screen for cocaine, cannabis, opiates and methamphetamine. Hygienic and easy to use, it offers a more dignified and convenient approach to drug testing than conventional tests which require urine or saliva samples.

Andrew Stephens, Group Health & Safety Manager at ParkerSteel says:

“The portability and rapid results delivered by the Intelligent Fingerprinting system mean we have been able to change our drug testing operations for the better – improving employee safety.

With our heavy steel products, we are always dealing with potentially dangerous situations. As a company we are very safety conscious – as any accident involving the processing, manoeuvring and transport of such heavy products could be unforgiving. ParkerSteel is focused on ensuring that our employees are fit for work, and this is why Intelligent Fingerprinting’s drug test is an excellent choice for our workplace drug testing needs. With its shorter window of detection, Intelligent Fingerprinting provides us with a quick and dignified way of identifying potential employee drug misuse in the period immediately prior to their working shift. We find that this screening approach gives us significantly better insight into possible impairment than the urine test we were using previously.

Due to the system’s portability, we can now test drivers randomly when they are in charge of steel loads of up to 40 tonnes. A key company safety requirement is that on each of our 48 HGV loaded journeys the driver pulls over into a safe place after five miles to check that chains and webbing straps are still secure, and the load is safe. We have just started to take advantage of this safety stop to carry out some random drug tests.”

To read the full case study (pdf), please click here.

Stonbury – an agile, direct delivery specialist contractor to both the water industry and wider water environment – has invested in Intelligent Fingerprinting technology for its drug testing activities.

Using sweat from fingerprints, the Intelligent Fingerprinting drug screening system can detect the recent use of cocaine, cannabis, opiates and methamphetamine during the 16 hours or so prior to sample collection. The investment will enable Stonbury to bring screening in-house for the first time, replacing external drug testing services. Stonbury predicts that its investment in Intelligent Fingerprinting products – including the latest portable reader for analysing fingerprint drug test cartridges – will deliver a full Return on Investment within the first year.

Stonbury has purchased a DSR-Plus drug test reader and drug test cartridges from Intelligent Fingerprinting, enabling testing to be carried out in-house at its nine UK depots and numerous construction sites across the UK. The company is also sourcing alcohol breathalyser tests from Intelligent Fingerprinting. The company’s threeperson safety team will conduct the drug and alcohol tests themselves, with results provided in ten minutes on site. The system is highly transportable, enabling the Stonbury safety team to be even more responsive to company drug screening requirements including random, post-accident and for-cause testing.

Stonbury is an excellent example of a firm using drug and alcohol screening to support employee welfare. Testing is being used by Stonbury to ensure employees are fit for duty when handling the numerous different types of heavy plant such as diggers, drivers, dumpers; working at height and around bodies of deep water; and confined spaces. Not only is the company embarking on drug and alcohol testing, but it also has a wider support programme in place as part of its wellness programme.

Paul Turpin, Head of Safety, Health, Environment and Wellbeing at Stonbury says:

“By bringing our drug and alcohol screening in-house, we predict that our Intelligent Fingerprinting investment will pay for itself within the first year. We previously used third-party providers for our drug and alcohol testing but reviewed this service at the start of the pandemic to limit contact with external parties. After closely evaluating the market, Intelligent Fingerprinting was the standout choice, with their innovative fingerprint drug testing kit proving to be exceptionally easy to use and offering a compelling financial proposition.

With Intelligent Fingerprinting, for the first time we can complete our drug and alcohol screening in-house, allowing us to test wherever and how often we want to. This means that Stonbury can be reactive and flexible should there be the need for a for-cause screening. We have three people in our safety team, and we plan to equip each of them with their own fingerprint test kits by the end of year three.

While Stonbury is extremely innovative in its technology adoption, we were also impressed by the number of construction sector firms – including MPB Structures,  McCann Ltd and SDC Builders – that are already using Intelligent Fingerprinting’s solution. Unlike traditional tests, the fingerprint test doesn’t require additional infrastructure such as dedicated toilet facilities and gender-specific staff to supervise sample collection, which makes it an ideal solution for on-site testing while also supporting social distancing where required.”

Civil engineering specialist Chasetown Civil Engineering Ltd is using innovative fingerprint-based drug testing to support health and safety initiatives on its construction sites. The company – responsible for many major earthworks and excavation, roads and sewers and infrastructure construction projects across the UK – has an active health and safety policy to ensure the safety of its employees and the public.

The fingerprint drug test will be used for post-incident, for cause and random drug testing to promote drug policy adherence – replacing a saliva-based testing approach. Intelligent Fingerprinting’s 10-minute drug test works by collecting an employee’s fingerprint sweat samples onto a small drug screening cartridge. Quick and easy-to-use, the hygienic system also enables social distancing while drug testing takes place.

Chasetown Civil Engineering Ltd is using the fingerprint drug test system to help ensure that its construction staff are all working safely – and protecting themselves, their colleagues and the public. The Intelligent Fingerprinting method tests for evidence of very recent drug use – enabling organisations like Chasetown Civil Engineering Ltd to determine more accurately whether an employee is fit to work while on site.

Intelligent Fingerprinting testing can be carried out without expensive external testing support and because no specialist testing areas or biohazardous disposal services are required, the process is simple to use in-house as often as required.

Karl Griffin, HSE Director Chasetown Civil Engineering Ltd says:

“Due to the nature of our projects, our employees often drive heavy machinery such as earth movers, excavators and dumpers. That’s why we operate a no-tolerance drug and alcohol policy, to ensure our employees are always fit to handle or be around such potentially dangerous machinery. For years we have used an in-house saliva test for limited random testing, or after a rare incident or report of a concern, for example. However, we were really attracted to the Intelligent Fingerprinting method. Not only can I carry out the drug test myself and get rapid results as required, but I’m also able to collect samples while maintaining social distancing from the employee – a major benefit when we’re trying to keep our workforce moving during the pandemic. Both parties can also wear masks throughout the test if needed.

We have a first-class health and safety record, demonstrating our commitment to the safe operating environment that we provide to our employees and clients. The health and safety of our site operatives is paramount. Adopting the Intelligent Fingerprinting method is a major step forward in our drug testing and drug policy development.”

Drainage expert, Public Sewer Services, has upgraded its workplace drug testing operations by adopting the Intelligent Fingerprinting drug testing system. Managed in-house, the test uses fingerprint sweat to quickly determine if someone has recently used cocaine, methamphetamine, cannabis or opiates – all of which can affect an employee’s or contractor’s ability to work safely and/or operate machinery in dangerous environments.

Public Sewer Services was looking for a replacement drug testing method for its incumbent saliva test. The saliva testing product was proving difficult to use, with Public Sewer Services conducting several tests that were spoiled and provided inconclusive results.

Gavin Greenfield, HSEQ Manager Public Sewer Services Ltd says:

“We were looking for an alternative to saliva drug testing as we had a run of saliva tests being ruined due to ‘dry mouth’ (lack of saliva). This was frustrating as it was not only wasting the drug test products, but also the Safety Manager’s time and the productivity associated with employees having to take time away from their roles for testing. Saliva tests were taking us about 35 minutes each, end-to-end.

In contrast we are finding that the end-to-end fingerprint testing method is really quick, with sample collection taking seconds and results available within only ten minutes. So, it’s a big efficiency gain for Public Sewer Services. After only a couple of weeks, the Intelligent Fingerprinting method is proving more reliable for us than saliva tests, particularly given our previous issue with inconclusive tests.

When we heard about the fingerprint drug test we were really surprised by the simplicity of the concept and the potential efficiency of testing using fingerprint sweat for the sample. It almost seemed too good to be true. However, the science is proven and the results speak for themselves.

We were able to roll the process out quickly, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the accompanying processes. No one likes paperwork, and the whole workplace drug testing task is significantly easier with Intelligent Fingerprinting. I found the paperwork for the saliva test cumbersome, with too many tick boxes needed to ensure adherence to the testing process. In contrast, the fingerprint test is remarkably easy to use, and time-saving results labels can be printed immediately and added to the employee’s paperwork. There is just one A4 form per donor to complete for both the initial screening test and, if ever required, the confirmation test. This makes our jobs much easier and tests are far simpler to administer.”

Well-established global building envelope specialist contractor, Crown Roofing and Cladding, is currently rolling out fingerprint drug testing across its European sites. Due to the high-risk work at heights that it carries out, Crown has a zero tolerance approach to drugs and alcohol misuse.

The company researched and purchased the innovative Intelligent Fingerprinting test to enable on-site, in-house drug testing, along with an alcohol breathalyser, with the objective of ensuring everyone is safe at work. Crown Roofing and Cladding now has plans to roll out the in-house testing approach to promote positive adherence to its drug and alcohol policies across construction sites in Ireland and other European sites.

The fingerprint drug test works by testing a simple sample of fingerprint sweat – enabling results to be determined within 10 minutes. Crown’s own well-trained staff will carry out the random tests in-house as required, acting as a deterrent to help underpin the company’s drug and alcohol policies.

Crown Roofing and Cladding was particularly attracted to the Intelligent Fingerprinting drug test because of its applicability for drug testing in the workplace. Fingerprint drug testing’s shorter ‘window of detection’ gives organisations like Crown a simple and dignified way of identifying potential employee use of cocaine, cannabis, opiates and methamphetamine in the period immediately before their working shift.

Emma O’Gorman Wall COO, Crown Roofing and Cladding says:

“As a company we are highly committed to employee and stakeholder health, safety and wellbeing. This is our constant focus. Our objective, from a health, safety and wellbeing point of view is to keep everyone safe on site and ensure every individual gets home safely each evening to their families.”

“With the help of the Intelligent Fingerprinting system, we have been able to quickly roll-out random drug and alcohol testing ourselves – all in-house. Through remote training, our Health and Safety Manager and team can conduct drug testing as and when required. We are randomly testing at one of our European sites at the moment, and are so impressed with the system that we’re now looking to roll it out to our other operational sites across Europe and Ireland.”

“The system is incredibly easy to use, and the benefit of being able to own the entire process in-house is very appealing to us. Importantly, the system tests for relevant recent drug use – rather than over a longer period – in line with workers’ union guidelines.”

Concrete frame specialist MPB Structures has adopted fingerprint drug testing for random on-site drug testing to promote site safety.

The Intelligent Fingerprinting test can be carried out in-house, by the company’s four safety managers, with results for opiates, methamphetamine, cocaine and cannabis all available within minutes.

With a turnover of £120M, MPB is one of the country’s top 10 concrete frame contractors and works on major rail, road and air infrastructure projects across the country from its Midlands-based headquarters. The company has a policy to randomly test 10% of its 1000 workers to ensure that its workforce is fit to work. The Intelligent Fingerprinting solution delivers results on-site within minutes, and replaces MPB’s previous urine drug test method that was provided by an external testing company.

Martin Cragg, Health & Safety Director, MPB Structures says:

“At MPB we work in a high-risk industry and are committed to a programme of active drug testing to reinforce our drug usage policy. Our goal is to ensure that workers aren’t under the influence of drugs that can affect their awareness and cause injury to themselves, colleagues or the public. We previously used urine cups to test that, at the time, were the best available option for us. However, no one likes having to pee in a cup or test someone else’s urine!

The new fingerprint method is far more hygienic and convenient for everyone involved and has been well received by both our workers and in-house testers. Intelligent Fingerprinting’s drug testing solution is simpler all around and makes a necessary task significantly easier – especially as we don’t have to tape off and segregate toilet cubicles etc or remove workers from a site to provide a sample. Also, due to the nature of our business and need for on-site testing, we are reassured that the Intelligent Fingerprinting system is robust and eliminates the embarrassment we all previously endured with the urine cup method.”

SDC Builders – the £185 million main contractor that undertakes construction projects across a variety of sectors, including research and development, commercial, manufacturing, automotive, healthcare, and education – is now using innovative fingerprint drug testing to test staff and subcontractors across its sites.

After only adopting the Intelligent Fingerprinting system in August 2020, the company has already completed over 250 tests in-house compared to the previous year’s total of fifty tests, which were carried out by an external provider. This increase in volume – made possible due to the Intelligent Fingerprinting system’s suitability for in-house drug testing – has reduced testing and sample collection costs, and made the whole process much easier to operate. In turn, this has enabled a more proactive approach by SDC Builders to its drug policy and health and safety obligations, while also ensuring a stronger deterrent against employee drug use at work.

The portable unit enables SDC to run their own in-house testing programme – carrying out tests at sites across Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. Testing takes place for a number of purposes, including random testing to encourage adherence to the company’s drug policy, as well as ‘for cause’ or post-incident testing. This activity helps to ensure that employees are fit for duty and ready to operate heavy construction machinery around their colleagues and the public.

Previously, third party drug tests cost SDC more than the Intelligent Fingerprinting system, with inevitable productivity implications as it took a couple of hours for the testing service provider to arrive on site. In contrast, the portable Intelligent Fingerprinting system is always available to the business, so a member of the health and safety team can carry out immediate testing when required.

SDC Builders Ltd said:

“During the first wave of the pandemic we were looking for alternatives to our drug testing provision. Understandably, we wanted to restrict people from visiting our sites, so our incumbent third-party drug testing provider was seen as an additional risk to our workforce, particularly as they operated saliva-based tests. We discovered that Intelligent Fingerprinting’s approach would allow us to carry out tests ourselves with results on site within just 10 minutes. Critically, in today’s times, we also feel that this is a safer test as there isn’t any exposure to saliva or urine samples and the test can be conducted while social distancing, and with masks worn at all times.

It’s important that our testing process acts as an ongoing deterrent to employee and operative drug use and is applied fairly across the business. We started the process at the top by testing our Directors. Our office staff were next, and we’re now actively visiting our construction sites to carry out random workforce testing. We believe this is an important part of our commitment to fulfilling our health and safety obligations – both to our employees and the wider public – and with Intelligent Fingerprinting’s solution we’re able to carry this out efficiently and cost-effectively.

We’ve been using the Intelligent Fingerprinting system for several months now. It is a faster process and has reduced operational costs compared to our previous third-party testing service. Also, because the equipment is always accessible and portable, we have been able to ramp up our testing activity.”

VANTEC Europe Ltd, part of one of the world’s largest global third-party logistics providers, has selected the Intelligent Fingerprinting drug testing solution – including six DSR-Plus portable readers and virtual training – as part of a major initiative to bring its drug testing in-house.

Based in Tyne and Wear, VANTEC provides logistics and warehousing services to clients including Komatsu UK, Thorn Lighting, Rolls-Royce Car manufacturing and Nissan Motor Manufacturing.

The company has opted for the fingerprint-based approach to help improve efficiency and dramatically reduce its cost per test. Given that VANTEC employees frequently operate potentially dangerous machinery such as forklifts, VANTEC will utilise the Intelligent Fingerprinting system to ensure they test all new starters before they proceed to induction during the HR process.

VANTEC Europe works actively to support adherence to its health and safety drug usage policy, and is committed to promoting safety for its employees, colleagues and customers. In the rare event of an accident, the company previously used an external provider to carry out postincident drug tests to check whether any employees involved were under the influence of illicit drugs.

After a review of market options for drug and alcohol testing, and to expand on the current initiative, VANTEC has introduced a broader drug testing programme to include new starters and random testing. The Intelligent Fingerprinting system, which can be managed in-house, is available on demand and offers a much more efficient way of supporting VANTEC’s health and safety objectives.

Diane Elgar, HR General Manager, VANTEC Europe Ltd says:

“As part of our ongoing commitment to employee safety and wellbeing, we were keen to show to our workforce that we have broadened the use of drug testing across the business in support of our existing drug usage policy. We believe we now have a flexible and effective method of delivering a test whenever we need to. It was clear that we needed to bring the entire drug testing process in-house.

As part of our drug testing market research, we spoke to one of our clients – and they invited us to see the Intelligent Fingerprinting solution in action. Using a sample of fingerprint sweat, a single-use collection cartridge, and a portable reader that is operated on-site, our client was able to show how fingerprint-based testing was quick, hygienic and easy to use – with results in only minutes.

The testing process was particularly simple, giving us the confidence that we would be able to manage it ourselves, in-house. We decided there and then that the Intelligent Fingerprinting system was the right approach for VANTEC Europe. I just wish we had known about Intelligent Fingerprinting two years ago!”

For the full case study, please click here.

McCann Ltd, a Nottingham-based civil and electrical engineering construction company, is using innovative fingerprint drug testing as part of its broader Health and Safety activities, to test new employees as part of the company’s induction process. Employees must pass the Intelligent Fingerprinting drug test before starting working on the major £60m Nottingham CityFibre contract, where McCann is supporting the delivery of the infrastructure to turn Nottingham into a Gigabit City with access to fibre.

The Intelligent Fingerprinting test enables the entire drug testing process to be handled entirely in-house with results available within minutes – avoiding time away from site for testing.

Candidates are simply asked to press each fingertip onto a small drug test cartridge to enable the rapid collection of a sweat sample. The cartridge is then placed in the portable DSR-Plus reader that analyses the cartridge and provides a positive or negative screening result for each drug in the test. McCann is screening for recent use of opiates, methamphetamine, cocaine or cannabis that could affect an employee and make them unfit for duty. The system is easy to use with virtual training for McCann’s team completed within an hour.

Ben Feltham, Quality and Lean Manager at McCann Ltd says:

“McCann operates throughout the UK on major road, rail and airport infrastructure projects for public and private sector clients. Our commitment to site safety has to be robust for both employees and the contractors under our responsibility. We previously used a saliva swab indicative drug test for initial for cause testing. If this proved positive, we then had to find an off-site 24-hour lab to provide a urine test for a final result. In some cases this has required a McCann HSEQ Manager being assigned to escort the operative being tested. As well as the obvious reluctance to carry out saliva swabs during a pandemic, there was a significant loss of time involved in escorting operatives for off-site second sample testing and waiting for results.

Also, we unfortunately encountered a contractor attempting to cheat the urine sample test at the offsite testing facility. With all of these negatives for traditional saliva- and urine-based drug testing methods, we were keen to strengthen our drug policy adherence by finding an alternative drug testing approach that would prove more robust against cheating. That’s why we were pleased to have discovered Intelligent Fingerprinting!

There are significant advantages with the Intelligent Fingerprinting drug test. We can bring the testing in-house – taking the samples and providing the results within minutes. In contrast to the offsite urine test method, we really can’t see any room for cheating to take place. It is also a relief not to have to handle saliva samples during a pandemic, particularly as this involved operatives having to remove their masks and inevitable close proximity. With Intelligent Fingerprinting’s method, face coverings can be worn at all times, while there’s no need for close contact or handling of biohazardous body fluids.

From a productivity point of view, with results on site within minutes we are also making significant time savings – enabling us to get on with running our business. We made the decision to purchase Intelligent Fingerprinting early this year and have quickly got the system up and running. We are testing the 20+ new starters on our Nottingham CityFibre project every week as part of the onboarding process and of course have the Intelligent Fingerprinting system at our disposal if we are ever required to deploy it to support for cause testing.”

For the full case study, please click here.

Keepmoat Homes, one of the UK’s top 10 builders of high-quality homes, has started to use fingerprint drug testing across its 100 UK construction sites. The Intelligent Fingerprinting test analyses fingerprint sweat to detect drug use, and will be used by Keepmoat Homes’ Health and Safety Business Partners to manage risk in the area of safety-critical plant operations.

Keepmoat Homes will test its building site plant operators – both employees and contractors – who operate safetycritical machinery on the company’s building sites, including cranes, diggers, dumpers, and telehandlers. It takes less than a minute to collect fingerprint sweat samples onto the Intelligent Fingerprinting drug screening cartridge ready for testing. Results are delivered on site in around ten minutes using the portable reader.

Keepmoat was particularly impressed by the Intelligent Fingerprinting system’s shorter window of detection that – at around 16 hours – provides a quick and dignified way of identifying potential drug misuse in the period immediately prior to the test. A positive result indicates recent drug use, and therefore suggests a greater risk of impairment at the time of test. This approach aligns with TUC guidance on drug testing in the workplace.

Nick Martens, Health, Safety and Sustainability Director at Keepmoat Homes says:

“After looking at all the different drug test approaches available, we felt that the Intelligent Fingerprinting method proved itself as a stand-out technology. Compared with urine and saliva tests, the fingerprint drug testing method is non-invasive, easy-to-use, rapid and accurate. The decision to adopt fingerprint-based testing was an easy decision for the Keepmoat Homes ‘Executive HSS Committee’. We can collect the samples ourselves and manage the entire process in-house, testing at planned intervals and for cause.

We have equipped each of our nine Health and Safety Business Partners who support our regional businesses and cover all of our UK sites, with an Intelligent Fingerprinting reader and supply of test cartridges. They have been trained to use the fingerprint testing approach, so that Keepmoat Homes retains full control over the end-to-end drug testing process. As a result, they will be able to reach any of our 100 UK sites quickly, should a test be required. Due to the system’s portability, samples can be taken from our workers on-site, so there’s no need to lose working hours. We can take a sample very quickly with minimal interruption.

We are also impressed by the robustness of the process. In comparison to urine tests, for example – where facilities need to be provided and monitored to prevent sample tampering – the fingerprint test requires no special preparations. Our regional team of Health and Safety Business Partners don’t need to be medically-trained to carry out the process. We see the fingerprint testing process as transparent. Our employees and sub-contractors need to be able to see and discuss their results there and then with the Health and Safety Business Partner conducting the test. We are really looking forward to putting the fingerprint testing approach to work.”

For the full case study, please click here.