Case Study: RMS Ports using fingerprint drug test in every major Humber port

RMS Ports has invested in fingerprint drug testing to help enforce its company drug policy, and health and safety obligations.

The Intelligent Fingerprinting test – that simply works by analysing a sample of sweat from fingerprints to detect drug use – will be used to test RMS Ports employees, contractors and visitors operating across the Humber Estuary – where the company provides shipping, stevedoring, storage warehousing and distribution services.

The portable Intelligent Fingerprinting system enables drug test samples to be taken from RMS Ports forklift drivers, HGV drivers, stevedoring personnel and office/ management staff to provide results in-house within only ten minutes. Fingerprint sample collection takes less than a minute, allowing RMS Ports to conduct random drug tests without impacting workflows. The company will also use the Intelligent Fingerprinting test for pre-employment tests as well as post-incident screening.

RMS Ports selected the fingerprint drug test following the successful use of the Intelligent Fingerprinting system by its workforce provision sister company, Precision Stevedores, which uses the system for rapid pre-employment drug screens and monthly random tests.

Steve Scruton, Group SHEQ Manager, RMS Ports says;

“We’ve been drug testing for a couple of years using the traditional urine cup method to encourage adherence to our company drug policy.

We think fingerprint-based testing will save us considerable time across the business, as we can now collect fingerprint samples on site with minimal intrusion into our day-to-day working practices. This contrasts with our previous urine tests, where collecting samples was time-consuming, intrusive and uncomfortable for those being tested. Additionally, we often had difficulties collecting samples, resulting in wasted time for both employees and testers.

Our RMS Ports sister company – Precision Stevedores – has been using the fingerprint drug tests for some time, and we were particularly impressed by the dignity of the process. It’s so much nicer and more efficient for all parties concerned, and there are no issues with gendersensitive testing as there were when testing with urine cups. The test is also completely transparent as results from the fingerprinting method are clearly displayed on the Intelligent Fingerprinting DSR-Plus reader, whereas urine test results were often unclear, prompting potentially difficult discussions with colleagues.”

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