FOCUS ON ALCOHOL TESTING BY INTOXIMETERS
10 Steps to 24/7 Readiness for Alcohol Testing
For the average service provider, the majority of workplace collections are urine specimens for drug tests, not breath tests for alcohol. Tat makes it easy to lose focus on your preparedness to conduct breath alcohol tests. Pulled from Intoximeters’ instructor training curriculum, this list will help you maintain the ability to perform error-free alcohol tests for your customers at a moment’s notice. 1. Ensure on-duty staff always includes at least one properly trained and qualified BAT. You should be ready for walk-ins and emergencies.
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2. Implement a procedure to update the designated employer representative (DER) contact information for all customers at least once per month or once per quarter. Te DER infor- mation can change without notice. DERs come and go prety frequently,
re your breath alcohol technicians (BATs) prepared for alcohol testing—at a moment’s notice?
and the company may not tell you when a change is made. Only the DER can receive test results.
3. Have a process in place to make sure your clients are providing all the necessary information for each test event; e.g., DOT or non-DOT, reason for test, etc. Only the employer/DER can give you this information, not the test subject/donor.
4. Have a DOT-compliant area set up for testing. Te collection site must be private enough that unauthorized per- sons will not see or hear the test results. While complete privacy may not be possible in all situations, BATs should seek to provide the most private testing area possible.
5. Maintain an adequate inventory of evidential breath testing (EBT) supplies (ink ribbons, paper rolls, ink pens, alcohol testing forms, and mouthpieces) inside the testing area. Assign someone to keep track of the supplies and let you know when order- ing is necessary.
6. Inspect your EBT device at least once per week to make sure the printer bateries are charged. Print the last test performed, or run a mock test to make sure. Bateries for your EBT instrument, if necessary, should be kept in your supply inventory as well. Rechargeable bateries like those found in your printer should not be leſt plugged in all the time as this can shorten batery life.
7. Obtain a quality assurance plan (QAP) from the manufacturer of your EBT instrument and ensure that your EBT device has been checked for accuracy
within the proper time frame. Inspect the logbook weekly to be sure an accu- racy check is not required. Te last thing you want is to have a positive test result and THEN find out that your instru- ment was not in compliance with the QAP. Keep in mind that some devices contain a “lock-out” feature that will dis- able testing if an accuracy check has not been performed within the last 30 days.
8. Ensure inspection, maintenance, and calibration records for the EBT de- vice and a valid dry gas standard are stored with the instrument. In case you need to perform an accuracy check before or aſter the test, you don’t want the BAT to have to leave the donor alone to run find the proper equipment. Also, in the event of an audit by a DOT operating agency, the inspector will ask to see these records.
9. Keep training records for all BATs in an easily accessible location and provide each BAT with a copy of their BAT certificate. Te regulations say in 49 CFR Part 40.213(g) that BATs must maintain documentation showing compliance with all the requirements in section 40.213.
10. To ensure that your BATs maintain proficiency with the EBT device and the DOT procedures, conduct hands- on proficiency training on a regular basis. Concentrate on scenarios that do not happen frequently, such as positive tests and uncooperative donors.
Questions? Contact the Intox Training
Academy at
training@intox.com or (314) 429-4000. ❚
36
datia focus
spring 2019
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