Many factors can affect health and safety at work. The physical environment, equipment, and coworkers can impact an employee’s well-being in the workplace. Employers must provide a safe workplace by managing all preventable occupational hazards. Unfortunately, certain risks can still exist despite preventive measures. One of them is the usage of alcohol and other substances. Alcohol use becomes a health and safety hazard when a person’s ability is impaired. For example, intoxication can affect vision, hearing, coordination, and mental alertness needed to perform tasks safely in the workplace. One of the practical methods to manage safety risks is conducting alcohol breath testing in the workplace.

Alcohol breath testing in the workplace can help employers identify employees with alcohol issues. A person with an alcohol use disorder, for example, can endanger all employees in the workplace. Furthermore, most workplace accidents involve high Blood Alcohol Concentrations (BAC) personnel. A person’s alcohol behaviour or consumption pattern is also one of the aspects that employers in high-risk industries consider. Devices like workplace breathalysers from Breathalysers Australia enable companies to determine alcohol usage or impairment.

When to Conduct a Breath Testing in the Workplace?

Employers have many options for conducting breath testing in the workplace. It is essential to know the right time to conduct workplace alcohol testing. Some of the different ways for alcohol testing are the following:

• Pre-Employment – employers can do this testing before hiring employees. By doing this, employers avoid hiring job candidates with alcohol problems.
• Random – this test is unannounced to identify current employees who misuse alcohol in the workplace. It is also best to test for alcohol use now and then if employees follow the company’s policy.
• Reasonable Suspicion – a suspicion-based test helps confirm if an employee is under the influence of alcohol. It is best to conduct this test to prevent alcohol-impaired accidents.
• Periodic – it is a planned test for abstaining employees from using impairing substances while employed. It is usually annual testing of all employees.
• Return to duty – this test is for employees who have returned to work after an absence, accident, or alcohol treatment.

These different ways of alcohol testing are effective in deterring alcohol misuse by employees. Employers can use urine, hair, blood, saliva, sweat and breath tests to determine the alcohol consumption of their employees. However, breath testing in the workplace is the most effective method. Devices such as BACtrack breathalysers of Breathalysers Australia are highly reliable for workplace alcohol testing. These devices include fuel cell sensors similar to those found in a police officer’s breathalyser. Furthermore, these sensors are only sensitive to ethyl alcohol, ensuring employers that false-positive results are less likely.

Benefits of Breath Testing in the Workplace

Breath testing in the workplace effectively keeps employees, customers, and organisations safe while saving money. Furthermore, employers and employees both benefit from a safe and healthy workforce. Drug and alcohol testing ensures that the employees are fit for work and that everyone in the company is safe. On the other hand, a breathalyser is the most cost-effective and convenient equipment for personal usage. It enables you to check your BAC at any time and place. You can immediately assess your alcohol level, for example, at a party, bar, or remote location where testing centres are limited or inaccessible. Furthermore, breathalysers offer the following benefits:

• Instant results – Breathalysers produce the most immediate results of any alcohol screening technology. In 10 to 15 seconds, the BACtrack breathalysers process the sample and provide the BAC result.
• Portable — Small-sized gadgets allow you to carry and check your BAC anywhere.
• Accurate – Modern breathalyser technology can accurately estimate the BAC. Choose a breathalyser with fuel cell sensors for more accurate results.
• Alcohol monitoring – Breathalysers allow for tracking the increases and decreases of the BAC level. Many individuals utilise it to limit their consumption to avoid exceeding the legal limit. Likewise, many people test their breath every hour to watch their BAC reduction.

Why Should Employers Implement a Breath Testing in the Workplace?

Businesses are required by law to keep their workplaces free of alcohol-related incidents. As a result, breath testing in the workplace may assist employers in enforcing a safe working environment. Alcohol has residual effects that can alter an employee’s behaviour throughout the day. Even if they report to work, having employees under the influence of alcohol would be a problem rather than an advantage to the organisation. As a result, they may easily disturb the work and safety of other employees. Employees might benefit from alcohol testing in the workplace as well. For example, they will enjoy a safer working environment with fewer workplace accidents and injuries. There will also be an improvement in their work performance and productivity. Furthermore, employees will improve their health and well-being. Breath testing in the workplace can be done using a breathalyser like BACtrack breathalysers that are available from Breathalysers Australia.

Workplace Breathalysers: Reliability

The reliability of devices is vital because breath testing in the workplace can significantly help businesses improve. High-risk industries depend on accurate breathalysers to maintain an alcohol-free environment. In line with this, workplaces and testing facilities use fuel cell breathalysers to precisely detect the BAC of individuals. The breathalysers from Breathalysers Australia use fuel cell sensor technology suitable for professional applications. Fuel cell sensors provide the most precise BAC results by undergoing an electrochemical process. The BACtrack workplace breathalyser from Breathalysers Australia has linear responses that can trace alcoholic concentrations over complete BAC ranges. Therefore, they can estimate the alcohol content from 0.00-0.400% BAC.

Breathalysers, such as BACtrack, are highly reliable in detecting alcohol in the system. They are a non-invasive method for determining recent alcohol use or impairment. Furthermore, with breathalysers, businesses would no longer have to wait for testing agencies to process samples. Breathalysers for breath testing in the workplace are simple to use and have a quick processing time, allowing organisations to control safety hazards efficiently.

BACtrack Breathalysers at Breathalysers Australia

Breath testing in the workplace using BACtrack workplace breathalysers are precise alcohol testers that use fuel cell sensors to measure the BAC correctly from a sample breath. Fuel cell sensors use an electrochemical technique to oxidise the ethanol in the breath to calculate the BAC. The device can display the BAC level in 10 to 15 seconds. Most workplaces have a zero-tolerance policy for drinking. However, a trace amount, even 0.01 per cent BAC, poses a safety risk. A worker who tests positive for BAC in a breathalyser may face disciplinary action, depending on the company’s drug and alcohol policy. Depending on the degree of alcohol impairment, the penalties may include counselling, treatment, or suspension. The professional workplace breathalyser devices from BACtrack are all you need to help manage workplace alcohol-related incidents. BACtrack is the most recognised brand of breathalysers worldwide and is available in Breathalysers Australia.