Currently I am on a vessel that has a zero tolerance for drugs & alcohol but there is no way of testing & enforcing.
Subsequently we sailed the other night with a couple of drunks and this is not the first time it has happened!
The vessel carry’s a Medic who is not trained in "safe custody" or the use of a breathalyzer.
As a result it has been decided to go down the saliva test route as I believe that anyone can perform this test if there is reasonable cause.
Has anyone got experience of the same and can help with a policy on the TESTING?
Regards to all,
Reg

Reg, If your company has a drug and alcohol policy, then you can test the employees, then pass the matter onto HR for them to sort out any disciplinary proceedings. If I have probable cause in my work then I test employees without any hesitation, after all keeping employees safe at work is my first priority

**Other companies exist**

try these guys http://www.intox.com/

Breath alcohol is a fast and reliable test which is why it's used by enforcement authorities the world over. It is also fully quantitative.

If you go ashore and return for a test it is my guess that saliva could present a positive text (I think it gives a yes /no to ethanol) maybe upto 24hours after the last drink (about an hour a unit)

Also it will give more frequent false positives which will then have to be confirmed by deeper analytical techniques. (until this is done I assume you would have to suspend the person?)

When I was on a chemical plant both myself, our nurse and security managed to use the screener in the above link. It's easy to test everyone coming back on board, and cheap and easy to use. Training was via a DVD.

Apart from that as said above make sure your policy is tight. I had an issue as we had a positive on a cannabis test and the person was suspended. They had just been on holiday in Amsterdam the week before. Cannabis can be detected for several months... Is that a breach????

It's fool proof kit. (the police have to use it :) )

The unit I used had disposable mouth pieces so you could accurately test or a cup type system for testing a large number of people.

I am sure they can provide hands on training. They train police forces around the world so I guess it will stand up in court too :)

As I have said before, I do have a link to this company (I used to make the fuel cells) and other companies do exist....

It might be foolproof to operate but it HAS to be in date for calibration!

One suggestion as to whether the conduct of the test and the results of the test is to have a responsible impartial witness (i.e. duty officer) present when the test is conducted and explain to the witness how the test is conducted and show the results to the person being tested and the witness.

As for safe custody, do you not have a medic onboard?

Hi Mark
Thank you for your comments.
The Medic is Ex Navy with a HSE Offshore Medic ticket.
Breath testing is the way we now need to go, when we have reasonable cause.
Training the tester is now what I need to look into... to prove competence etc.
Regards
Reg

1. I think they require a two year calibration, they advise on service considerations on purchase. My point was it's a lot more reliable than saliva. I was advocating this as the correct path.

2. REALLY!!! Are you talking UK law here? In the UK you can only restrain if they are under arrest or sectioned! If you restrain them and they die it's not going to be a good day! It might be OK in the military?? but even a hospital can't restrain in the manner you suggest!