First fingerprint-based system to support end-to-end drug testing, from pre-employment screens and random tests to post-accident investigations
New technique assists in the fulfilment of workplace Health & Safety / drug usage policies
Intelligent Fingerprinting is bringing new levels of convenience, hygiene, and speed to employee drug testing in the construction industry through a simple, end-to-end drug testing solution based on fingerprint sweat analysis.
Unlike traditional urine- or saliva-based drug tests, which can be invasive, time-consuming, and undignified for testers and employees, the portable Intelligent Fingerprinting drug testing solution is quick and easy to deploy wherever needed across a construction business. It supports all forms of employee drug testing, including pre-employment screening, random testing, and for-cause testing, whether in the office or on construction sites.
The new end-to-end system features an initial screening test that works by analysing sweat from a fingerprint to determine if an employee has recently used cocaine, opiates, amphetamines or cannabis. Sample collection takes only five seconds, and screening results for all four drug groups are available within eight minutes.
Should an employee or contractor’s drug screen test positive – in contravention of a construction firm’s existing Health & Safety or drug misuse policy – the tester would then use Intelligent Fingerprinting’s Fingerprint Collection Kit for Laboratory Analysis to collect samples for a confirmation test. The kit for the laboratory confirmation service also includes everything required to securely send the collected samples to the testing laboratory, including a tamper-evident security bag, barcodes to maintain the anonymity of the samples, and a postage-paid return envelope.
Intelligent Fingerprinting’s Dr Paul Yates said: “Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, construction firms have a duty to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their staff, so an effective employee drug testing service should be a critical element of any workplace drug policy. However, it’s also essential that firms and their employees are fully confident in the accuracy of their drug testing procedures, whether they’re testing urine, saliva, or sweat. For this reason, a laboratory confirmation test should always be performed after a positive screening result. With our non-invasive system – which combines the portable Reader with the simple one-touch Drug Screening Cartridge, and the unequivocal results offered with our Fingerprint Collection Kit for Laboratory Analysis – construction firms can enjoy all the benefits of fingerprint-based drug testing and be confident about the end-to-end reliability of their process.”
Fingerprint-Based Employee Drug Testing for Construction Firms – How It Works
Intelligent Fingerprinting’s end-to-end drug testing solution for construction firms features a single-use, tamper-evident Drug Screening Cartridge that collects a sweat sample in just 5 seconds. The Intelligent Fingerprinting portable analysis unit then reads the Cartridge and provides a clear positive or negative result on-screen for cocaine, opiates, cannabis and amphetamines.
Should an employee’s initial screen prove positive for any of the four drugs tested – in contravention of a construction firm’s drug policy – two further samples for confirmation are gathered using the Intelligent Fingerprinting Fingerprint Collection Kit for Laboratory Analysis. Informed written consent is obtained from the donor prior to sample collection, along with a statement of the donor’s prescription medication, if applicable.
Once the confirmatory samples have been collected, the Fingerprint Collection Cartridges are sent in a tamper-evident security bag to Intelligent Fingerprinting’s partner laboratory for analysis. The laboratory provides the customer with a quantitative laboratory result in the form of a Certificate of Analysis.
About Intelligent Fingerprinting
Launched in August 2017, Intelligent Fingerprinting’s portable Drug Screening System works by analysing the sweat from a fingerprint sample. It is non-invasive, fast and cost-effective – screening for multiple drug groups simultaneously (currently amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine and opiates) with sample collection taking 5 seconds and results in minutes. A laboratory confirmation service is also available.
The system is currently being marketed to the criminal justice arena, drug rehabilitation services, offender management, workplace and occupational health services. The technique has potential for many other uses, including healthcare diagnostics and homeland security applications.
Founded in 2007, Intelligent Fingerprinting is a spin-out company from the University of East Anglia (UEA). The company is based in Cambridge, England and currently employs around 30 people.
