Construction specialist Masterson Holdings adopts fingerprint drug test system

• ‘Quick and easy’ Intelligent Fingerprinting solution to support ‘fitness to work’, drug usage policy adherence and health and safety obligations to its major construction contractors
• Enables rapid in-house testing – a fundamental part of proactive employee wellbeing initiative
• “We’ve had staff volunteering to take part as the technology is so easy and innovative”

Masterson Holdings Ltd, the construction group turning over circa £150 million per annum, is deploying a revolutionary fingerprint drug testing system across its four operating companies. The Intelligent Fingerprinting test detects drug use in around 10 minutes by collecting and analysing tiny traces of fingerprint sweat, and will be used to support the random drug testing of all Masterson Holdings employees from directors to labourers. The fingerprint drug testing system will be used to enforce contractual drug usage policy adherence required by major contractors on construction projects, encourage employee health and safety and also as a fundamental element of the company’s ‘fitness for work’ and proactive employee wellbeing initiatives.

Masterson Holdings selected the fingerprint method ahead of urine and saliva tests as Intelligent Fingerprinting’s portable solution enables on-site drug tests at its construction sites. The process can be carried out in-house by HR staff, with results available on site in 10 minutes. The ability to manage the initial test in-house is not only a major operational benefit for Masterson, but also supports the company’s wellbeing policy. Masterson is committed to offering support to any employees who may have a drug usage problem, providing them with a range of support options through their HR function. Masterson will use the fingerprint drug test across its operating companies: GetJar, the concrete frame and groundwork specialist; its Atlantic Contracts carpentry and joinery business, and Glencoe Plant Services that provides plant hire & construction services.

Andrew Chowings, Group SHEQ Director of GetJar said: “As a contractor, we have a drug usage Health and Safety Policy for our employees’ on-site safety, and adopting the Intelligent Fingerprinting solution allows us to carry out tests quickly, easily and more unobtrusively when compared to urine tests for example. However, as a reputable family business, we wanted to go a step further. Instead of relying on external parties to fulfil our drug testing, we can now bring the function in-house, proactively introducing drug testing as part of our employee wellbeing initiatives. There are, of course, urine and saliva drug tests on the market but the fingerprint method fitted the bill for us as we are able to test our employees ourselves – at a random time to suit us, with rapid on-site results. It is also extremely quick and ‘clean’ with no unhygienic bodily fluids used as part of the process.

“As part of a broader employee wellbeing initiative, we have also introduced random drug testing for all our employees, from directors to labourers. The programme has been in play for a few months now and the response from our employees has been extremely positive – we’ve even had volunteers as they are intrigued by the innovative fingerprint-based testing technology. We’ve now adopted Intelligent Fingerprinting into our health and safety and wellbeing policies, and randomly test a part of the business every 12 weeks,” he continued.

Intelligent Fingerprinting’s Dr Paul Yates added: “Our innovative fingerprint-based drug test provides a hygienic and dignified means of supporting a wide range of workplace drug testing scenarios – from pre-employment screens and random drug tests to post-incident investigations. The fact that fingerprint drug tests do not require specialised testing facilities or clinical waste disposal also means that companies such as Masterson Holdings can benefit from a testing approach that is much easier to use than traditional methods that can be invasive, time-consuming and undignified. We’re delighted that Masterson Holdings has confirmed that fingerprint-based tests are such a cost-effective and practical way of supporting their health and safety initiatives and enabling their drug misuse policies.”

Fingerprint-based drug testing – how it works
Intelligent Fingerprinting’s drug testing solution 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. A fingerprint-based laboratory confirmation service is also available.

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