2009年2月10日星期二

women30

Accidents at work due to alcohol or drug abuse cost U.S. businesses $33 billion per year, according to Council data. Cindy Ford, program manager at the San Antonio Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, says more organizations are developing programs in response to demand from businesses. The council has its own employee assistance program as well. More progressive companies that are not required to implement drug policies are realizing the benefits, Glisan adds. "Those that aren't mandated realize it's just good business," he says. Glisan declined to reveal the names of any ADPC clients. The firm serves companies nationwide, but has its largest concentration of clients in San Antonio. Glisan adds that he would like to increase ADPC's presence here. Recently, ADPC has seen its greatest client growth among small- to medium-sized businesses. That's a new trend, Glisan says. Traditionally, small businesses feel they can't afford to hire a consultant and implement a drug policy, he says. Today, drug policies and drug testing are more affordable. The cost, he says, is relatively low compared to damages, lost time and production, and workers' compensation claims due to substance abuse in the workplace. Also, ADPC creates employee "pools" for small businesses to facilitate random drug testing. The pools group together employees of several small businesses, allowing the employees to be randomly selected. Glisan began his track toward drug policy management and consulting while in the military as commander of the U.S. Air Force Forensic Drug Testing Laboratory. There he analyzed new drugs, procedures and treatments, as well as analyzed drug tests, he says. Glisan also was a member of the Department of Defense Biochemical Testing Committee that developed the drug testing policy for the entire Department of Defense. After more than 20 years of service in the Air Force and United States Marine Corps, Glisan tapped that experience and founded Aviation Compliance Testing in 1990. He began by creating drug programs for flight instructors. Still operating as a separate division, Aviation Compliance Testing now offers its services to a number of different companies and organizations in the aviation industry. In 1992, Glisan founded ADPC, after realizing that there was a need for drug policy management for many different businesses, not just those in the aviation industry. Since then, Glisan has built up a client list for ADPC that includes nearly 30 businesses in San Antonio and more than 400 nationwide. ADPC also is now affiliated with National Safety Alliance Inc. (NSA), a Nashville-based drug policy management group. In 1994, ADPC joined NSA. Glisan says the move gave ADPC national scope, without sacrificing the firm's autonomy. Glisan says he hopes ADPC's services will help to eliminate workplace substance abuse and increase the productivity of their clients' businesses.