“Our new fingerprint drug testing system will pay for itself within 18 months” – Total Recycling Services

“Our new fingerprint drug testing system will pay for itself within 18 months”

• Total Recycling Services brings drug testing in-house using quick, clean and easy Intelligent Fingerprinting system
• “I hadn’t heard of fingerprint sweat drug testing before and it is a great alternative to the saliva and sweat tests that we previously relied on” – Mark Storrie, SHE Manager, Total Recycling Services

Darlington-based Total Recycling Services has brought its drug testing in house with an innovative fingerprint-based system that tests for cocaine, cannabis, opiates and methamphetamine. For the first time, Total Recycling Services will be able to use its own staff to carry out drug testing across three sites. Adopting the Intelligent Fingerprinting system will significantly speed up the testing process, with individual test costs lowered, allowing greater frequency of testing. Total Recycling Services expects its adoption of the Intelligent Fingerprinting system to provide a full Return on Investment within just 18 months as the company switches from using an external testing provider to an in-house service.

Total Recycling Services has a nationwide fleet of drivers and vehicles that collects waste – including hazardous cargos – before bringing it back to one of the company’s three depots for processing or recycling. Following a rare incident or suspicion, the company previously took staff to be tested at a third-party site 20 minutes away, resulting in disruption to the working day. Now, tests can be conducted onsite with results in only ten minutes. Thanks to the Intelligent Fingerprinting system’s flexibility and ease-of-use, the company hopes to expand its use of drug testing – enabling more frequent random testing across the workforce as well as potential use as part of the recruitment process.

Mark Storrie, SHE Manager at Total Recycling Solutions, said: “We previously used an external company to do our drug testing, but this required two employees, a driver and the individual requiring testing, to travel to our testing partner’s site some 20 minutes away, wait for the test and then return. This not only took time, but was clearly disruptive to our work schedules. We are really excited that the Intelligent Fingerprinting system enables us to bring our testing in-house. And because the system is portable, we can use it across our three sites and test as often as required. It will be great to have the flexibility to test when and where we need to, and we expect the system to pay for itself within just 18 months.

“From an employee point of view, our staff are curious and keen to see the system in action – and especially pleased to see the back of the traditional urine and close proximity saliva tests we were previously using. Our employees appreciate the fact that they have more control over the process with Intelligent Fingerprinting. They can unwrap the cartridge, put their finger on the test pad to provide the sample, and close the protective, tamper-evident cover themselves. In addition to reduced staff mixing from a COVID perspective, this employee control and first-hand experience of the drug testing process makes for a more engaged process. We have also completed remote training to enable several staff to carry out testing and they have all found the system really easy-to-use.”

Dr Paul Yates of Intelligent Fingerprinting added: “Total Recycling Services has found that our fingerprint drug testing system makes a great replacement for inconvenient and often expensive external testing services. Not only will they benefit from a solution that’s more flexible and easier to use, but also one that delivers a rapid Return on Investment. This combination will help support essential drug testing across the business without compromising on COVID safety measures.”

Fingerprint-based drug testing – how it works
Intelligent Fingerprinting’s drug testing system features a small, tamper-evident drug screening cartridge onto 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 in 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’s portable Drug Screening System works by analysing fingerprint sweat. It is non-invasive, fast and cost-effective, with sample collection taking seconds and simultaneous screening for multiple drug groups in ten minutes. A laboratory confirmation service is also available. The system has applications within many sectors and customers include employers in safety-critical industries such as construction, transport and logistics firms, drug treatment and family safeguarding organisations, as well as UK coroners.

The Intelligent Fingerprinting VSS-GP COVID-19 Saliva Test uses lateral flow technology to detect the SARS-CoV-2 antigen, including the Omicron variant. Unlike existing COVID-19 tests that require unpleasant, invasive nose and throat swabs, the VSS-GP COVID-19 Saliva Test uses a simple swab to collect a saliva sample just from the inside of the cheek.

Intelligent Fingerprinting has distributors across the globe, including the USA. Founded in 2007, it 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 Total Recycling Services
Total Recycling Services is an ISO-accredited total waste management company providing a range of services including collection services for both non-hazardous and hazardous waste. It provides clients with commercial recycling services, hazardous waste recovery and industrial services. Total Recycling Services owns two recycling facilities and a hazardous waste recovery facility equipped with state-of-the-art equipment facilitating cost effective waste management. The organisation has recently installed a bespoke chemical drum decontamination & recycling plant to provide a genuine recovery route for containers that formally contained chemicals. www.totalrecyclingservices.co.uk