Drug Testing Improves Productivity

'The quicker that companies implement a drug-free workplace, the better,' says Dan Burazin, Operations Manager at D.G. Beyer, Inc., a commercial construction company located in New Berlin, Wisconsin. The company employs approximately 50 people and hires additional workers from various labor unions for contract work. A relatively new member of the Drug-Free Workplace Network, Burazin said he first implemented a drug testing program almost a decade ago.

A labor agreement forged from negotiations between the unions and the Associated General Contractors of Greater Milwaukee, in which D.G. Beyer has membership, outlined several types of allowable drug testing. Probable-cause testing, used by D.G. Beyer when employees exhibit behaviors indicative of substance abuse, such as high absenteeism, may be the most difficult kind of testing to conduct, according to Burazin. 'It is hard to try to get help for employees who have drug problems without pointing a finger at them,' he said.

D.G. Beyer also uses post-accident testing, which is administered any time an on-the-job accident requires medical attention for the employee involved. Employees testing positive are referred to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). If the employee follows the treatment recommendations of the EAP, his/her job is preserved. However, the employee is then randomly tested over the course of the next 12 months in an effort to monitor compliance.

'Our accident rate is way down because of drug testing,' said Burazin. He recalled that in a three-year period, the company experienced a drastic increase in the number of lost-time injuries. Company records show that before the program in one year, it had as many as 21 injuries, 10 of them involving lost time. After D.G. Beyer implemented the substance abuse program, records show that the number of injuries decreased to just three. None of them involved time lost from work.

Burazin added that during the time period in which the number of accidents decreased, the number of total hours worked during the year increased from 99,449 to 118,782 two years later. This positive correlation, Burazin believes, is due to both the drug-free workplace program and the company's aggressive safety program.

'We are also seeing a 33 percent savings on Workers Compensation costs,' added Burazin. He said that because D.G. Beyer had such a great safety record last year, they now receive money back on their insurance premiums. 'I can say that I am extremely proud to be in the Drug-Free Workplace Network, and I would encourage companies who do not have a drug testing program to join the Network and implement one as soon as possible,' said Burazin.

He added that D.G. Beyer is experiencing a 30% cost savings on drug tests by being a member of the Network.