Third Party Testing for Peace of Mind

Workplace drug testing is a critical component of safety systems in Australian and New Zealand business. Confronted by an imperative to test, many businesses contemplate the value of engaging with a third party provider over “doing it for themselves” by conducting in-house testing.

“All of the foregoing ensures that your program is executed with a high degree of accuracy and precision. Even where errors occur, particularly in some human systems, a quality collecting agency will investigate and offer solutions based on a long history of experience and expertise.”

Workplace drug testing is a critical component of safety systems in Australian and New Zealand business. Confronted by an imperative to test, many businesses contemplate the value of engaging with a third party provider over “doing it for themselves” by conducting in-house testing.
In this article we will explore the many benefits of engaging a collecting agency to perform testing.

Many collecting agencies around Australia and New Zealand have decades of competent testing experience. They are specialist providers with up-to-date knowledge of equipment and techniques and a very good understanding of case law, standards and regulations and best practice. The result of engaging a third-party collecting agency is that employers are often insulated from the many pitfalls associated with a poorly implemented or poorly understood program.

There are many template policies and procedures that float around Australian and New Zealand industry that are often technically incorrect or do not match the human resources and industrial relations philosophy of the organisations they are implemented in. A quality collecting agency will provide you with specialist support in developing your documentation so that it is technically correct and matches your organisational needs. This can assist with the defensibility of your program and save you a lot of angst later.

Testing and laboratory Standards contain a lot of compliance systems that go beyond the bare protocols of testing. For an organisation that doesn’t specialise in testing, these compliance requirements can be very difficult to achieve and maintain. Verifying compliance without independent accreditation creates an additional layer of complexity which can impact on the defensibility of your program.

Third party testing by a collecting agency who has achieved certification to ISO IEC 17025 is by its nature, impartial and objective. Collecting agencies are required to maintain a register that tracks actual and perceived conflict of interest and investigates all potential conflicts. This level of scrutiny particularly around the perception of conflict is difficult for businesses to achieve internally. A collecting agency is engaged to provide independent, scientifically rigorous testing. Each aspect of the testing process comes under intense scrutiny to ensure impartiality and objectivity from screening and consent through to laboratory reporting.

The differential in cost between internal testing and testing by an independent collecting agency might appear on the surface to be significant. The fact is that this differential pales into insignificance if it all goes wrong (and it probably will). A well-run, independently supported testing program leverages the experience and expertise of the collecting agency to ensure that in the event of a challenge, you are covered. The costs of getting it wrong far outweigh the costs of compliant testing with strong systems and experienced support.

A compliant collecting agency will maintain:

• Participation in a proficiency testing program where their systems performance are challenged on a regular basis for conformity.  Non-conformance is investigated and corrective action instituted as required.
• Regular internal and external auditing of all processes.
• Quality processes for the management of complaints, conflict of interest, corrective action improvement and suggestions.
• A secure records management system validated for functionality including privacy management.
• Use of verified equipment manufactured and verified against the relevant Standards and calibrated accordingly.
• Compliant collection of data and reporting of results to the highly specific requirements of the Standards.
• Collections Staff who have been trained to a high standard and who can demonstrate ongoing compliance.

All of the foregoing ensures that your program is executed with a high degree of accuracy and precision. Even where errors occur, particularly in some human systems, a quality collecting agency will investigate and offer solutions based on a long history of experience and expertise.

• Peace of Mind:  You will be engaging with a provider who knows what they are doing and has probably seen most of the challenges that you might face in this very complex field.  Their systems and processes are subject to critical scrutiny by independent auditing and internal compliant management to ensure not just bare compliance but best practice and continuous improvement. 
• Improvement to Legal Defensibility:  Any testing program is subject to potential legal challenge.  The experience and expertise of a third party provider can greatly enhance your capacity to respond to such challenges.
• Privacy of Data:  Third party providers who are certified to an international Standard such as ISO IEC 17025 will have a well-protected and robust Laboratory Information System together with protocols that provide a high degree of privacy and security for the integrity of your and your employee’s data.

Workplace Drug Testing Australasia actively supports its members to achieve the highest standards of integrity, accuracy and fairness in workplace drug testing.