Many companies, including Arvon Staffing and other temp agencies, conduct drug testing as a condition of employment for some jobs. Many jobs, including forklift operators, machine operators, production workers, and truck drivers require drug testing for obvious safety reasons. But is drug testing the best way to determine if an employee is under the influence at work? Some say no.
Impairment testing is another way companies can determine if an employee is not in the appropriate condition to be working safely. Impairment tests involve using a program on a computer or cell phone to test hand-eye coordination, decision-making, and other brain functions that could indicate impairment. They can be conducted quickly, unlike drug testing which typically requires the employee to go to another facility for testing, and then wait at least a day to receive results. Impairment tests can also detect if a person is impaired for a reason other than illegal drugs, such as alcohol, fatigue, or medication. This is one of the drawbacks of traditional drug testing; they can only tell us so much. We can find out from a drug test that someone has ingested an illegal substance recently, but not if they are under the influence or if they may be impaired in some other way.
The main drawback of impairment testing is that they can be costly. However, 5-panel drug tests typically cost around $50 a pop.
