41 / 44
CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
MAY 2015
39
of the year does nothing to create the de-
sired culture of responsibility and account-
ability with regard to alcohol consumption.
Achieving this requires a combination of ef-
fective policies and procedures, education
to help change culture, and quality testing
equipment that can be used to enforce poli-
cies consistently throughout the year.
Developing effective policies and proce-
dures and importantly, enforcing these
policies and procedures, is essential to
ensure that random testing takes place on
a regular basis. In addition, awareness of
policies needs to be created throughout
the organisation, not only around the exis-
tence of policies and the process followed
but also the need for these policies in im-
proving safety for all concerned. Further to
this, education is also an essential founda-
tion in minimising alcohol consumption in
the workplace. Often, employees are not
aware of the harmful consequences of al-
cohol usage on their health, the safety of
the workplace, and in the case of transport
and logistics, of other road users. Education
can help employees to understand the rea-
sons for alcohol testing, how to drink more
responsibly, the impact of alcohol on their
health, how breathalysers work and so on.
It is also essential to help ease the transi-
tion to a culture of continuous testing and
enforcement of policies throughout the year.
Supporting policies and procedures, organ-
isations should also implement appropriate
high-quality alcohol testing equipment. A
variety of different breathalyser solutions
are available to meet the needs of work-
places across industries, and are essential
in enforcing policies and ensuring compli-
ance with health and safety regulations.
Purchasing leading solutions from a repu-
table supplier will ensure that organisations
continue to benefit from their breathalyser
investment throughout the year and for
many years to come.
Alcohol use in the workplace and on the
roads is a problem all year round, and
not only over the festive season. Random
testing and consistently enforced policies
throughout the year are essential in creat-
ing a culture that alcohol abuse is never ac-
ceptable at work. This not only dramatically
improves health and safety, it also prevents
additional stress during the holiday period,
as alcohol testing and policies are no longer
an issue that is only applicable at a certain
time of year. High-quality equipment, effec-
tive policies and education and consistent
enforcement will enable businesses, partic-
ularly those in the transport sector, to better
control the number of workers operating
under the influence, with positive knock on
benefits all round.
b
HEALTH & SAFETY
“Alcohol use in the
workplace and on the
roads is a problem all
year round, and not
only over the festive
season.”
By Rhys Evans