The first step in any drug and alcohol-testing program should be the development of a drug and alcohol policy. It is well worth the time and effort spent on developing or reviewing your policy and ensuring that it meets all of your requirements fairly. No-one knows your requirements, facilities, operation and circumstances better than you, so don't be afraid to use your own expertise and don't undervalue it. Certainly seek assistance if required, and research what information is available, but be aware that a policy that you copy from elsewhere without any review may not satisfy all of your specific requirements.
Pre employment is the most common form of testing, as it is the easiest form to introduce.
More recently we have seen an expansion into the other forms of testing. Random testing provides a good deterrent to drug and alcohol abuse, but you need to ensure a random testing program is just that, random. When we run random testing programs for companies, we use a DOT approved computer software program to select employees for testing from a file containing staff names. The computer algorithm of the software selection program is dependent on the computer clock, and therefore changes constantly to ensure a truly random selection system. The fact that the staff who are selected for testing are chosen by an external contractor adds further to the independent nature of the selection and eliminates concerns of bias or unfair targeting of individuals.