“ROI in a year” with in-house fingerprint drug test system for Stonbury

“ROI in a year” with in-house fingerprint drug test system for Stonbury

• Water industry construction specialist adopts in-house fingerprint drug testing and alcohol breathalyser tech
• “By bringing our drug and alcohol screening in-house, our Intelligent Fingerprinting investment will pay for itself in only 12 months* – ” Paul Turpin, Head of Safety, Health, Environment and Wellbeing, Stonbury
  *based on testing 10% of workforce per annum

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 three-person 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.

“By bringing our drug and alcohol screening in-house, we predict that our Intelligent Fingerprinting investment will pay for itself within the first year,” commented Paul Turpin, Head of Safety, Health, Environment and Wellbeing at Stonbury. “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,” he continued. “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.”

Intelligent Fingerprinting’s Dr Paul Yates added: “Stonbury is a great example of a firm using drug and alcohol screening to support employee welfare, and we look forward to working with them as a one-stop partner for all their screening requirements and any subsequent back-to-lab confirmation tests. 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. Impressively, 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. It is an excellent drug and alcohol policy.”

Fingerprint-based drug testing – how it works
Intelligent Fingerprinting’s drug testing system features a small, tamper-evident drug screening cartridge on to which ten fingerprint sweat samples are collected, in a process which takes less than a minute. The Intelligent Fingerprinting portable analysis unit then reads the cartridge and provides a positive or negative result on-screen for all drugs in the test within ten minutes.

An introductory video demonstrating fingerprint-based drug testing in action is available here.

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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:
Intelligent Fingerprinting is a leading provider of fast, innovative and cost-effective point-of-care diagnostic solutions – including a portable Drug Screening System that works by analysing fingerprint sweat, and easy-to-use saliva-based COVID-19 lateral flow tests. The company has distributors across the globe, including the USA. 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 employs around 40 people. www.intelligentfingerprinting.com  Twitter @iFingerprinting

About Stonbury:
Stonbury is an agile, direct delivery specialist contractor to both the water industry and wider water environment, with an emphasis on delivering innovative, low carbon and high-quality reliable solutions.

Currently holding 20 Frameworks, the organisation works for most of the UK’s water companies and the Environment Agency – either directly or through its major supply chains – to deliver high value, low-carbon solutions across their asset estates. This includes works on potable water, wastewater treatment centres and nature-based ‘green’ and ‘grey’ solutions that deliver smart, low-carbon environmental engineering. www.stonbury.com