In this issue of Industrial Process News, we have selected AlcoDigital as our Drug, Alcohol & COVID-19 Testing Company of the Year.
Since 2002, AlcoDigital has been one of the UK’s leading experts in Bio-Testing with a strong emphasis on alcohol and drugs, but since COVID-19, has expanded its bio-testing to include antigen, antibody, PCR and saliva based COVID-19 testing. With an aim to provide industry-leading testing equipment, training and servicing, AlcoDigital work with individuals, corporations and government organisations to find the right solution to their alcohol and drug testing needs.
AlcoDigital’s clients come from a wide range of industries including transport, healthcare, construction, retail and government, and because of its rich history of expertise and knowledge in the field of bio-testing, many of its clients stay with the company for many years.
Proving a difficult period for a number of businesses all over the world, COVID-19 bought with it many downfalls that left some companies in a position to never recover from.
AlcoDigital were able to side step its way through the pandemic, and despite its core customer base being left to face the brunt of the crises, Suzannah Robin, Operations Director of AlcoDigital, explained to us how the company managed to turn a bad situation into a manageable solution.
“We have over 20 years’ experience in this industry and therefore were able to transition our business objectives slightly. Because our suppliers who manufacture our drug testing kits also manufacture COVID-19 testing kits, it gave us a really good income stream when many other companies were really struggling. The last 12 months have been really positive for us because with COVID-19 restrictions now dramatically reduced, the main core of our clients are now back up and running meaning our alcohol and drug testing kits within the B2B markets has increased. Overall we have been very busy, and managing workload and employee sickness has been testing, but since summer 2021 we have exceeded sales putting us in a great position going forward.”
With recent additions to staff levels, AlcoDigital has been pushing their latest product – Worksober. Worksober is a fully automated alcohol screening system that identifies employees with facial recognition technology. It enables employees to be alcohol tested remotely in less than 10 seconds and can be used as a standalone breathalyser to screen employees before entering the workplace. Alternatively, it can be connected to entrance systems such as turnstiles and electronic doors to control entry to high-risk sites.
“This was a system we launched pre COVID-19 but have been really pushing over the last 12 months. It is one of our key products and we are really keen for companies to take advantage of our trial offer to see how simple it is to integrate into the workplace. The unique selling point of the product is that it completely removes the manpower requirement out of alcohol testing in the workplace. It works solely by facial recognition and built-in RFID technology. Its fully automated with access entry and test data stored and uploaded to the cloud providing real-time system alerts via email or SMS when alcohol is detected. It has become extremely popular, and we’re really excited about it,” said Suzannah.
The Worksober can be mounted on a wall and used to automatically test your workforce on a daily or random basis. Being fully configurable, Worksober allows companies to test their entire workforce or just a small, select group. It is the most intelligent automated alcohol screening system available to the UK market to date. AlcoDigital will be showcasing this device at two events this year, alongside the device manufacturer:
- ITT Hub 11-12 May 2022 Farnborough International
- FORS in Manchester – 12 July 2022
With more than half a dozen companies now using two to three units each of Worksober, getting the knowledge of the product out into the market is the company’s main priority over the next 12 months. It’s important to note companies can trial the product for free and if it works, then the benefits of the trail are that all the procedures and systems are already in place, and the monthly subscription takes care of the rest.
Alongside the supply of products and servicing, the main core of the business is to provide CPD accredited face-to-face and online training for drug and alcohol testing through the AlcoDigital Academy. Available to individuals, organisations and governing bodies across the UK, the training is suitable for all levels of staff who provide support to your organisation when testing for drugs and alcohol in-house. Face to face ‘Workplace Training Days’ are available to everyone, running at over 30 locations across the UK. The online training courses offer convenience and flexibility while their bespoke on-site training is tailored to your company’s exact drug and alcohol policies.
Being able to offer such a unique product that is exclusive to the company, AlcoDigital will continue to push both Worksober while continuing its refresher training and introducing the training of and the Worksober product to new markets.
Suzannah also mentioned another product that AlcoDigital is keen to support. “From 2025 new vehicles must have the hardware in place to support the fitting of an Interlock. Here in the UK there is no legislated requirement for these devices to be used to prevent drink-driving, therefore, we are supporting the action of this legislation to be approved here in the UK.” An alcohol ignition Interlock is a breathalyser immobiliser wired into the ignition system of the vehicle. Marked as the most effective way to prevent accidents from drunk drivers, interlocks have the ability to eliminate repeat offenders, it’s just a case of making voices heard so that the UK government responds and takes action.
In closing, we asked Suzannah how she felt receiving the award, she commented. “We are very honoured. We are only a small company, yet our expertise and strong knowledge means we very much hold our own against big corporations. Our personal client relationships and strong leads enable us to provide our clients with the latest technology much quicker than larger companies. This award shows we are doing something right.”
T 0208 454 7372
www.alcodigital.co.uk