Fingerprint employee drug testing now a reality for construction firms

Press Release

Fingerprint employee drug testing now a reality for construction firms

• 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 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 with the availability of 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 it is needed across a construction business. It supports all forms of employee drug testing including pre-employment screening as well as random 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, with simultaneous screening results for all four drug groups provided in just 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 anonymous sample identity and a postage-paid returns 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 completely confident in the accuracy of their drug testing procedures, regardless of whether they’re testing urine, saliva or sweat. For this reason, a laboratory confirmation test should always be carried out following 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 takes just five seconds to collect a sweat sample. 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.

Our introductory video demonstrates fingerprint-based drug testing in action:

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For media information contact Cheryl Billson at Comma
Email: cheryl.billson@commacomms.com  Tel: +44 (0)7791 720460

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. www.intelligentfingerprinting.com Twitter @iFingerprinting