We Ran Around A Lot Then

Urine Drug Test

When reminiscing about the “old days,” we often recall college days, old school pals, and even young business antics from our adult, post college years. We ran around a lot then. We built a lot of memories.

We made mistakes, and learned from them by scarring our bodies and minds with bad and good experiences, marking ourselves permanently with our opinions and changed attitudes due to these life lessons and life experiences.
We ran around a lot then. We did a lot of things. We had a lot of fun.

It is fun to sit down every once in a while, with our brandy or wine or whatever it is you prefer at the end of the day, with our wives or husbands, our grown kids or our at-home kids, and to reminisce about the “old days.” The good old days.

When we live in the past, we no longer travel there for a moment in time. We begin to obsess. We sit on the ends of the pubs or bars, and talk about how we could have been somebody, about how we could have been great.

You don’t need that energy in a company which seeks to grow and make the future brighter with hope. You don’t need that around your other employees. CMM Technology brings you drug test equipment, from our Medix integrated pro-split cup 6+6 to our Rapid STAT saliva drug test, we have a lot of options to choose from, and we pride ourselves on the quality of our products. Make sure that your employees are not bringing maudlin obsessions with the past into your business’ present. Make sure that you have everything you need here. Our NATA accredited recalibration services are great, too. They are all about what you will do with your current breathalyser devices, even if they are not from us, when you need them recalibrated. We are good at that.

In conclusion, remember that it is okay to remember the past, as long as it is still just a memory, rather than all you live in or with. Today is a good place to be in, too. Call CMM Technology to make sure that your employees remember this.

This article has been taken from: http://www.cmm.com.au/articles/we-ran-around-a-lot-then/

Today’s Social Drinking University Students are Tomorrow’s Workplace Alcoholics

Urine Drug Test

Managing a business requires intense focus on operations, Human Resources, and a myriad of goals, systems, projects, processes, and programs. One of the programs is the AOD program. For many companies, keeping drugs and alcohol out of the business is literally a full-time job in the sense that someone has a full-time responsibility for managing the alcohol and other drug testing program. However, employers are increasingly viewed as the points of contact for educating people on the inherent dangers of substance abuse. Governments and nonprofits now go even further and ask employers to participate in community and public programs, especially addressing alcohol abuse and its consequences. The reality is that alcoholism begins early in Australian life as children as young as 14 years old take their first drink and continue the practice as university students who binge drink. Employers should always keep in mind that the young social drinkers of today are tomorrow’s workplace alcoholics.

Employers have a vested interest in what is happening in Australian society. Alcoholics and binge drinkers do not suddenly become alcoholics and binge drinkers once employed. There is a good chance that many of them attended “schoolies” and “leavers”. These celebrations to mark the end of secondary school education frequently turn into secret binge drinking and drug taking opportunities. They are not intended to be that way, but teens who do not understand the potential harms are more likely to participate in the non-sanctioned activities.

Schoolies and Employers

There are good reasons for employers to care about “schoolies”. For example, teenagers who consume alcohol whilst the brain is still developing are more likely to experience brain damage and health complications in life when older. They are also more likely to have problems with alcohol in the future.1 Employers must deal with the consequences because these are the people making up the workforce.

The young adults attending universities are more at risk of continuing their teenage drinking patterns. La Trobe University addresses student drinking head-on. The university’s research and surveys indicated that only 46 percent of their students who consumed five or more alcoholic drinks averaged marks of credit or higher. However, 67 percent who drank less than three alcoholic drinks each week averaged marks of credit or higher.2

One of the interesting results of the La Trobe surveys is that 86 percent of students believed alcohol “breaks the ice”. Approximately 82 percent thought drinking was a social activity enhancer. The reality is that many of the students drinking more than five or more drinks did something regrettable at a later point. The “regrettables” were things like performing poorly on school work assignments or missing classes.

Drinking at Work for Social “Coolness”

However, it is easy to take the wrong student perceptions and translate them into the workplace. People who think drinking enhances social communication are more likely to turn to alcohol as an ice-breaker in the workplace or to prove social “coolness.” When employers allow alcohol at work events like picnics, award ceremonies, and holiday parties, they are sending a message that it takes alcohol to interact with others and to have a good time.

It is not just alcohol that is a problem, and the substance abuse issues are not limited to Australian students. There have been European and American studies conducted by researchers at the Basel and Zurich universities involving Swiss students. The results were alarming. Almost 14 percent of students were relying on some kind of neuroenhancement substance to improve their school performance.3 If they think drugs and alcohol will enhance school performance, why would they not think the same substances would enhance work performance?

Employers do need to care about what is going on in the community and the habits of the members of the future workplace. Developing increased awareness is one strategy in the effort to maintain a zero tolerance workplace and supplements other activities like onsite drug testing and breathalyser testing for alcohol. CMM Technology can help by offering expert policy development assistance, accurate drug testing technologies, and a host of breathalyser devices and NATA equipment calibration checks.

This article has been taken from: http://www.cmm.com.au/articles/today%E2%80%99s-social-drinking-university-students-are-tomorrow%E2%80%99s-workplace-alcoholics/

Mistakes in D&A Testing DO Count

Drug Testing

Everything in life has risks and rewards, and workforce testing for drugs and alcohol is no different. The rewards of a substance free workplace include a lowered risk of accidents and injuries, higher productivity, and reduced health costs. The maximum rewards are only derived when the AOD program is managed correctly and legally. The risks, on the other hand, flow from failures to act. For example, management fails to develop a healthy workplace culture or the on site drug testing schedule is not followed. What are the other common drug testing mistakes that can quickly get employers in trouble?

Staying Off Shaky Ground

The first two common mistakes cover a broad area. First, the failure to develop a culture that discourages substance use and encourages ethical behaviour can raise the risk employees will use drugs and alcohol. There should be a positive culture that engages everyone in the organisation in the effort to keep drugs and alcohol out of the workplace. A poor workplace culture contributes to worker health problems like alcoholism and drug addiction.1 Developing a substance free culture has to start in the executive suite, flow down through the organisation and be regularly reinforced through messaging, employee resource groups, and worker training and development.

The second broad mistake is failing to have a written drug and alcohol testing policy. A corollary is failing to have a policy that meets federal and state or territory laws. Without a policy, employers stand on shaky legal ground in terms of enforcing a substance free workplace. In addition, the policy provides the consistency in the message delivered to employees and the responses should employees test positive to drugs.

List of Common Failures

Other common mistakes include the following:

Failing to follow the policy and procedures that were put in place

Using a company that is not AS4308 & AS4760 accredited for drug and alcohol testing

Failing to train managers in proper responses after developing suspicion an employee is using drugs

Failing to train employees on the policy whilst expecting compliance

Taking action on the first non-negative onsite drug testing results without obtaining confirmatory testing at an accredited laboratory

Not maintaining proper documentation that indicates the chain of custody for the sample

Breaching drug and alcohol testing confidentiality

Treating certain employees inconsistently, i.e. never test, test more frequently, ignore positive results, etc.

Small mistakes can lead to major employer problems. For example, The Australian Standard requires that certain protocols be followed concerning sample handling when there is a non-negative test result. If the employer fails to follow the Australian Standard, an employee is likely to claim the employer cannot “prove” anything (and is right).

Tell Me Again…

The drug and alcohol program needs the same attention to detail as other critical programs like compensation or job training. Workers should be thoroughly trained on the AOD policies and procedures. It is also just as important to share information that helps employees cope with workplace conditions and situations without turning to drugs or alcohol. The training has to be ongoing too. One more common mistake employers make is believing that telling a worker once, at the time of hiring, that drugs and alcohol are not allowed is all the training needed.2

Mistakes in D&A programs do count. To help employers avoid critical mistakes, CMM Technology supplies them with quality saliva drug test, urine drug test, and alcohol test supplies. In addition, CMM Technology has the appropriate documentation that simplifies the recording process whilst assisting employers with meeting legal requirements.

This article has been taken from: http://www.cmm.com.au/articles/mistakes-in-da-testing-do-count/

The Twelve Step Program and How It Changes Over Time

Urine Drug Test

When a drug addict or alcoholic seeks help through a twelve step program, they are looking for a tiny amount of relief from their pain. Over time, they receive much more than this tiny amount of relief. However, they cannot have huge expectations of the program at one time, because it is designed to be used one day at a time, little by little, until the addict has peace and stability.

Unfortunately, many people drop out of their twelve step programs before they are completed and before they have reached the peace they desire and deserve so much. In fact, for experienced people who have been in their programs for many years and have refined their peace over this long period of time, the coming and going of newcomers is quite common. They know that not everyone stays, and that those who do may not remain for the period of time which they have.

Let’s talk about the experienced program followers, then. They will say that if you work the program and really do your best, over time you will accomplish a great deal, but that you must stick with it over time. Some of them even say that the program changes over time, but that part is not quite true.

You change as a person, and therefore receive different benefits from the twelve step program over time. You change and therefore the program “seems” to change, because you are getting more and more benefit out of it.

At CMM Technology, which is NATA accredited for breathalyser calibrations, we feel that there are many times when a company, during its growth and change, will need employee drug testing. Just because you have had no change in employment and no positive test results in the past five years does not make it any less of a company liability if someone is injured on the jobsite due to intoxication in some manner. We therefore provide breathalyser recalibration services, as well as drug test kits and saliva drug test.

This article has been taken from: http://www.cmm.com.au/articles/the-twelve-step-program-and-how-it-changes-over-time/

The Sounds of Silence

Urine Drug Test

We have all heard the notorious song by Simon and Garfunkel. It is something of a legend, actually. However, for anyone who has ever been given the silent treatment, it has a whole different connotation. It is jarring to the ears. It seems unnatural. You wonder what is wrong.

When substance abuse infuses a workplace, it may not get louder and more party-like. It may get quieter and lazier. What can you do when your employees are all sitting around apathetically and very casually doing their work? What do you do when everyone seems to be permanently depressed?

Well, first of all, you make sure there wasn’t a death in someone’s family. Now that you have that out of the way, start looking for practical solutions. There may be some sort of substance abuse. Employees may all be having a hard week at the same time, and someone started the trend. Maybe the trend continued and people stopped caring about their livelihoods. Whatever the case, you will need to do something about it, but you can’t without information.

Our Lifeloc FC10 breathalyser device and our Rapid STAT saliva drug test are especially popular, but we have products from all over the spectrum of drug test equipment, and we are here to help you get what you need when you need it. If you have a regular drug testing schedule, then you may find it helpful to have a standing order, but it is often necessary to just order when supplies begin running low. Drug test equipment should always be stored a little in excess, just in case an emergency pops up where you will need to screen a particular worker. On-site drug testing especially has need for high quality drug test equipment, and CMM Technology is most happy to oblige.

The sounds of silence do not have to hold sway in your building. Your jobsite can have happy, talkative voices again. The difference is in the stability of your employees. Make sure that it’s strong.

This article has been taken from: http://www.cmm.com.au/articles/the-sounds-of-silence/

The Dreams of Little Children

Saliva Drug Test

Little children are always symbols of hope and carefree days. They typify a time in our lives when we had no troubles. Of course, if you really think back carefully, you will remember that you had little child problems, which seemed just as important to you as your adult problems do now.

Little children dream and wish and create all kinds of good things for themselves, often being very happy with the simplest of toys and always being amazed by all of the wonderful things around them which they are experiencing for the first time.

Children are what make going to work every day worth it. When you have kids, you have a sense of belonging to a greater world and a wider purpose than you ever thought you belonged to before parenthood. Kids bring their simple, unemotional perspectives to your world and remind you that not everything has to be so complicated.

This is especially true when people are abusing drugs or alcohol in your workplace environment. They take on more than they can handle, or they think they do, anyway, and this leads to enormous problems when it comes to fulfilling deadlines, being on time with reports, maintaining a professional attitude, and loving what you do for work.

There are so many ways in which a business can improve its business experience, and this is found through many business studies which have been done over the decades. However, the primary role that employee drug testing takes in the improvement and simplification of the attitude in your workplace is undisputed by all. There are so many ways in which the simple act of drug testing improves your workers that we may not even be able to list them all there.

For one, though the screening process itself doesn’t keep anyone from abusing drugs or alcohol while on the jobsite, it definitely shows employees that a standard has been set which must be upheld.

Secondly, it improves morale, because it shows everyone that you will hold all of them accountable for their duties, and that if one of their coworkers begins to behave erratically, you will hold them responsible for their behavior, no matter what the orgin.

You can see, the list can go on and on.

For more information, or to place an order for drug test equipment, call us today. We even have NATA accredited breathalyser recalibration services for your alcohol test.

This article has been taken from: http://www.cmm.com.au/articles/the-dreams-of-little-children/

Is it Balance or is it Control?

Saliva Drug Test

How do you know if you’re being a control freak? How do you know if you’re not just being very, very reasonable? What if your advice is really sensible, but people take nonsensical roads for themselves and you call them out on it? Where does the line between control freak and good friend exist?

If you are a parent, then the line is probably a lot further into the field of control than if you were referring to what kind of friend you are. The entire thing can be summed up pretty quickly. Parents exercise more control over their kids’ lives, and so their references to “control freak” and “good advice” would probably be very different from the references that a drug-addicted rock star would delineate. It is, therefore, very important to always delineate to whom this questions is asked.

What about if you own or run a business? Shouldn’t you really be more a control freak in that situation?
Well, perhaps, as long as you are not micromanaging everyone and making it difficult for them to perform their jobs with any kind of flow. It is therefore pretty important to also define the relationship between yourself and the person you are affecting.

What if your employees are bringing drugs and alcohol to work? In this case, you are legally liable for these actions, or at least your company is. What if something injurious happened to another employee or to themselves? What would you do in this instant? We would strongly recommend that you immediately implement both drug and alcohol testing, so that you can make sure of their state of mind and body chemical substance content.

CMM Technology is here to help you with this difficult problem. We provide urine drug test, oral fluid drug tests, alcohol test, and even NATA accredited recalibration services for your individual breathalyser devices. It is therefore very important to bring it to our attention that you wish to place an order from us. We know that, when it comes to employee drug testing, it is not a matter of balance or control. It is a matter of safety and, in some cases, life and death. Order drug test equipment.

This article has been taken from: http://www.cmm.com.au/articles/is-it-balance-or-is-it-control/

Be A Leader When You’re Weak

 

Breathalyser

It is sometimes easier to be a leader when you are weak than when you are strong. Why is this the case? It usually happens when someone is normally an outcast or someone who blends into the background easily and just does what they are told…until they have to come out of their own comfort zone.

It is this comfort zone which inspires people to rest and rejuvenate, but once that has been accomplished, it is the weakness outside of the comfort zone which turns that rest and rejuvenation into productive energy and something worth looking at.

When you are downtrodden and have given up hope, when your life is a mess and things are all going wrong, and when you feel weak and helpless, remember that it may be because you are still inside of your comfort zone long after your rest was complete. Now you must go out into the real world or into whatever area of your life which is making you feel weak at the moment, and you must get good at what you want to achieve. The only way to do that is to be weak and to practice being weak until you can graduate to a slightly stronger level.

CMM Technology provides drug test equipment, including urine drug test like our Medix integrated pro-split cup 6+6. We know that your business may not be full of people who take their own weakness as a challenge to practice their skills over and over again. We know that you may want to screen your employees, because some of them have been quite a bit lacking in reliability lately. Onsite drug testing is part of this screening process, only more convenient than regular laboratory testing, and with our drug test kits, you will be well on your way to properly testing your employees.

And when you, yourself are feeling weak, remember that leaders can truly lead from both positions, from both strength and weakness. That is the mark of a well developed leader. Therefore, take initiative have your workers tested with drug test equipment.

This article has been taken from: http://www.cmm.com.au/articles/be-a-leader-when-you%E2%80%99re-weak/

Responding to Positive Drug Tests

Urine Drug Test

Employers can easily get confused when they read advice concerning the best way to deal with detected drug or alcohol use in the workplace. Does the employer immediately terminate the worker? Should the employee be allowed to go through multiple rehabilitation programs? Should the worker be told to go home and return the next day? When a fair dismissal is supported by the facts, how does the employer implement the dismissal policy with minimal business disruption? These are the kind of questions that continually arise as employers attempt to fairly manage drug and alcohol programs in a way that balances workplace safety and health while promoting harm minimisation to worker lives.

As long as an employer uses rigorous and high-quality testing equipment and adheres to appropriate collection procedures, they can rely on the results. Additional appropriate safeguards include communicating clear cut-off points for positive results to workers, ensuring procedures are clear about who will be told final testing results, and developing a grievance and complaint process that includes a process for challenging test results.¹ However, a well-developed set of policies and procedures also addresses how positive tests will be managed from that point forward. One of the important points to keep in mind is that the faith and trust workers put into a drug and alcohol test program depends on administrative consistency and uniform and fair application of consequences in response to positive test results.

What Next?

The consequences of positive substance tests include temporary suspension, mandatory re-testing, required counselling or completion of a rehabilitation program, and termination. How consistently an employer responds to a positive drug testing plays a major role in how seriously employees take the program and how effective the program is in the end. Assuming an employee tests positive, what are the appropriate responses?

First, the employer should always re-test the employee to verify the test result is accurate. This supports the importance of using high-quality equipment that meets Standards Australia requirements. It is important to be careful to avoid making statements that can be misconstrued by the worker. For example, saying something like, “I expected you would test positive,” instantly adds suspicion to the test despite the verifiable results. Those kinds of statements can create a perspective that the testing was done to “catch” a worker doing wrong.

If a worker has a positive re-test, the worker should be informed in a professional manner what the next steps will be and the options offered by the employer based on the policy. The worker should be asked to stay in a safe place in the workplace until safe transportation home is arranged. An incident report should be completed quickly while events are fresh in the manager’s mind and to ensure documentation is completed. Upon consultation with Human Resources and top management, the manager will recommend the next steps which are the “consequences” of using substances in the workplace. Consequences are usually a combination of disciplinary action and some form of rehabilitative action. Disciplinary actions can include demotions, temporary suspensions, termination, or job reassignment when appropriate.² In jobs with high safety risks, allowing the employee to return to the same position without rehabilitation is usually not an option.

Accountability and Fairness

Unfair dismissal claims brought by employees to Fair Work Australia are common. Employers are held accountable for the wording of the policies and the administration and communication of the policies. Policies and procedures must be reasonable and fair. When an employee is dismissed, the employer must be able to prove each step was completed and that the employee was not treated any differently than any other employee who tests positive for drugs or alcohol.

CMM Technology (cmm.com.au) can help employers fulfill their responsibilities to accurately and fairly administer drug and alcohol policies and procedures. CMM Technology has a wide selection of testing supplies and equipment that are reliable, accurate, and dependable.

This article has been taken from: http://www.cmm.com.au/articles/responding-to-positive-drug-tests/

Approaching a Work on Drugs or Alcohol – Expect the Unexpected

Saliva Drug Test

The Government of Western Australia’s Department of Commerce has a frequently-asked-questions tab on its Alcohol and Drugs webpage. There are four questions, and one of them is, “How should an employer approach someone affected by drugs or alcohol in the workplace?” The fact this is one of the most commonly asked questions is an indication of the concerns employers and coworkers have about approaching someone who is obviously impaired due to substance use or abuse. Professionals who are experienced in dealing with people under the influence of substances offer the same advice across the board: Avoid confrontation and rely on calming skills so the person does not feel more confused or threatened.

It is human nature to get defensive when confronted in anger. When the worker is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the emotional and mental balance is upset. It is likely that someone showing external signs of substance abuse is easily confused or may even be hallucinating. If the person is hallucinating, it is impossible to know for sure what the worker is seeing or hearing. As farfetched as it sounds, someone on hallucinogenic drugs might see “monsters” all around or believe snakes are getting ready to attack. Fortunately, most cases are not this severe, but there is simply no way to assess the extent of a worker’s impairment just by looking at the person. For this reason, the professionals are clear that it is best to avoid approaching someone who is mentally impaired by drugs and alcohol in a threatening or confrontational manner because the consequences can make the situation even worse.

Make No Assumptions

Workcover New South Wales makes two excellent points that employers should always keep in mind. First, supervisors should not make any assumptions. It might be the person only appears to be using illicit substances, when in fact it may be the worker is ill, overly stressed, or having issues with legal prescriptions. Making assumptions without knowing the facts can influence the supervisor’s attitude and prompt confrontation. The drug and alcohol test will help the employer sort through the facts. Second, the employer’s initial contact with the worker should be non-confrontational and an attempt to talk to the person in terms of workplace safety or work performance rather than discussing substance abuse.¹

The Department of Commerce offers employers specific advice about what to say. In answering the frequently-asked-question concerning approaching someone on drugs or alcohol in the workplace, the employer is advised to be brief and stay calm, but remain firm. The instructions to the worker need to be delivered in an unemotional tone and repeated firmly as much as necessary. Using the person’s name repeatedly may penetrate the brain fog substance use can cause. The initial contact is not the time or place to debate, argue, or make accusations.²

Unpredictability is Predictable

It is important to remember that people using drugs or alcohol can respond in an unpredictable manner. The worker can be experiencing symptoms that fall anywhere on a spectrum ranging from mild intoxication to having hallucinations. The first step is keeping the worker as calm as possible, and then getting the person out of the work area and away from coworkers. Once in a safer area where it is possible to assess the person’s mental and emotional state and to complete drug and alcohol test, the employer is in a much better position to determine the next steps to take.

Dealing with workers under the influence of drugs and alcohol is unpleasant at best and dangerous at worst. The first defence again deteriorating workplace safety is random drug testing. CMM Technology (cmm.com.au) provides the state-of-the-art drug and alcohol testing supplies that demonstrate the employer’s willingness to invest in programs that keep all workers safe.

This article has been taken from: http://www.cmm.com.au/articles/approaching-a-work-on-drugs-or-alcohol-%E2%80%93-expect-the-unexpected/