Modern Mining April 2019

COMPANIES

problems for mining sector

a third party, such as a security guard. Interestingly, Alcontrol has been designed and developed locally by ALCO-Safe, which is also working on facial recogni- tion software to go with the product. “Mines face the risk of depleted workforces when uncontrolled voluntary testing is introduced. The problem is that alcohol abus- ers tend to take advantage of the system and use their right to voluntary testing as an excuse to justify absen- teeism due to positive test

results,” says Evans. “For this reason, mines need to couple the voluntary test programme with a policy which restricts

The Lion 700 portable breathalyser with printer and carry case.

the number of allowable positive tests. A camera option is available with the product which ensures that workers do not abuse the system by getting co- workers to test for them.” While breathalysers account for the major pa r t o f ALCO- Sa f e ’s business, the Alere drug- testing products – which

and its products are used to undertake over 10 million tests a year in around 75 countries.” Forming the backbone of the Lion range is the AlcoBlow Rapid Test, a significant advance- ment on the original – and, with its yellow casing, iconic – AlcoBlow. “The AlcoBlow Rapid Test breathalyser is our biggest seller and is perfect for high-volume testing scenarios which are typically found on mines, when hun- dreds of workers might be coming on duty at the beginning of their shifts,” says Evans. “The rapid test requires only a fraction of the amount of air previously needed to accurately give an indication of the presence of alcohol in the bloodstream, which means that it samples first time, every time. It also features software changes that have dramatically improved bat- tery life – in fact, 5 000 tests can easily be achieved on one set of batteries.” Another new development is the Alcontrol breathalyser for voluntary alcohol testing. It is a wall-mounted device which is based on the AlcoBlow Rapid Test and offers employees – whether of a mine or any other organisa- tion – the opportunity to self-test their alcohol levels. Currently, users activate the device via either a card or fingerprint recognition. Based on the results of the breath test, entry to the workspace – typically through a turnstile – is either allowed or denied. The whole process is automated and does not require the presence of

analyse either saliva or urine – have carved out a healthy share of the local market since being introduced in 2009. The range of solutions on offer includes single strip drug tests which test for one specific drug type, multiple panel drug tests which test for six or 10 different drugs in one test and drug testing cups which test for six or 10 different drugs in one cup. Disposable saliva tests are available to test for six different drug types in one test. The Alere DDS2 is the flagship drug-testing instrument. Using a saliva sample, it gives results for six different drug types. It displays the results on a screen and provides a printout, all within five minutes. Evans notes that the recent Constitutional Court ruling that marijuana can be used in ‘private spaces’ has had an influence on how mines test for use of the drug. As he points out, traditional urine tests are highly accurate at

The Alere DDS2 saliva drug testing and printing kit.

April 2019  MODERN MINING  41