Modern Quarrying April May 2015

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April - May 2015 MODERN QUARRYING 27
SUPPLIER FOCUS:
ALCO-SAFE
developing substance abuse policies and control programmes.
Elaborating further, Evans says: “The substance abuse policy is the
first step. You can’t just arrive at work with a breathalyser and decide
that you are going to test your staff. It’s not fair and it’s not reason-
able to do that; you have to have a substance abuse policy in place.
So your policy will set out a strategy for testing; it will describe why
the testing is being done; who is going to be tested; the different
test scenarios – will it be random testing, or will it be compul-
sory? Is it just going to be testing after accidents or incidents?
It sets out what the tolerable limit will be or if they are going
to have a zero limit for alcohol. Some companies still choose to
work with the drink driving laws, so they work with a professional
driver limit of 0,02. The policy also includes the actions that would
be taken if an employee is found under the influence of alcohol.
“This policy is extremely important and must be communi-
cated to employees before it is implemented so that they are
firstly aware of the policy, and secondly it puts power in the
employer’s hands. When a company doesn’t have a policy and
someone continuously arrives under the influence, they buy an
instrument to test the employee, who refuses; and when this goes
to a CCMA case, the first thing the company is asked for is to supply
the policy. This sounds ridiculous,” Evans says, “but it happens.
“One has to remember that the whole aim of the policy is not
to catch people out, but rather that we are trying to create a safe
environment. Without that policy, you don’t have a leg to stand on
and it would be very difficult to try and defend a case.”
Discussing new equipment for drug and alcohol abuse, Evans
says one of the most popular instruments for use at entrance points
is the Alco-Blow range of instruments. “The Alco-Blow Rapid is a
new version which is significantly faster and easier to use. It reduces
queues and makes it easier for companies carrying out random test-
ing to switch over to compulsory testing. Security officers often
have the problem of a build-up of employees and visitors at the
gates when it comes to compulsory testing, but with the new instru-
ment, because it is so much faster, you can get rid of those queues
fairly quickly.”
Alco-Blow Rapid instruments do not require physical contact
between the subject and the device, and use a pressure sensor that
only requires a very small breath sample to deliver results. These
devices deliver a simple ‘pass or fail’ result, which is much faster
than giving a specific alcohol level. An electro-chemical fuel creates
a chemical reaction resulting in an electric charge in the presence
of alcohol. Using this new technology, health and safety officers can
conduct on average three times the number of tests per minute,
which means that more than 1 000 people can be tested in an hour.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act stipulates a zero toler-
ance policy for alcohol in the workplace, which means that any trace
of alcohol in the systemmeans workers are over the limit. However,
it is up to quarrying companies to enforce this. This requires a
comprehensive approach that includes the appropriate substance
abuse policies, education, and the right equipment to deter alcohol
and drug-related incidents. Even heavily-scheduled prescription
medication can impair workers, and these too need to be included
in drug policies and tested for.
Rhys Evans will be presenting his equipment at this year’s Institute
of Quarrying conference.
Report by Dale Kelly and photographs courtesy Alco-Safe