3 Reasons to Switch your Driver Drug and Alcohol Consortium (C/TPA) Management

Is your Consortium/TPA (C/TPA) experts in DOT drug and alcohol testing regulations? You can find out by reading their drug testing blog articles, see if they offer drug testing management training, and look at their customer reviews.

Companies today, regulated by the Department of Transportation (DOT), face strict drug testing regulations and complicated management processes that have been changing rapidly in the last few years.

This includes:

1. New hire driver file management and past employer drug testing history
2. Registering and using the CDL Clearinghouse database annually and for newly hired drivers
3. Loading new reasonable suspicion information to the CDL Clearinghouse database
4. Managing random selection of drivers for drug testing and meeting quarterly or annual required random testing rates
5. Fulfilling paperwork requirements and follow-up during the drug testing and lab testing processes
6. Switching to updated chain of custody forms (CCF) or using electronic CCFs
7. Storing drug testing results and other recordkeeping requirements
8. Understanding changes to the required drug test panels on what drugs are being tested
9. Staying up to date on local, state, and federal discussions around marijuana legalization
10. Having all supervisors of DOT regulated drivers complete the required 120 minutes of Reasonable-Suspicion Training

These are a lot of requirements that smaller fleets and owner-operators often handle poorly, simply because they would never have enough time to manage everything properly. For this reason, most motor carriers choose to have a Consortium/Third-Party Administrator manage their drug testing program.

According to the FMCSA, “C/TPAs manage all, or part, of an employer’s DOT drug and alcohol testing program, sometimes including maintaining required testing records. They perform tasks as agreed to by the employer to assist in implementing the drug and alcohol testing program and to help keep the employer compliant with the DOT/FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Testing rules and regulations.”

While there are no DOT qualification requirements (though this may change in the future) for a consortium or third-party administrator, the expectation is that they know:

• all of the employer requirements and responsibilities under 49 CFR Part 40 and Part 382,
• requirements of Part 383 (CDL Licensing),
• requirements of Part 391 (Driver Qualifications), and 
• requirements of Part 392 (Driving of Commercial Motor Vehicles)

If you currently have a consortium handling your drug testing program, do you trust that they are experts in the industry and can handle some or all these processes?

How do you find the right Consortium/TPA to help your company stay compliant?

The purpose of a DOT drug testing program is to mitigate road safety risk and limit carriers’ exposure to liability.

If you use a local doctors’ office for driver physicals or urine specimen collection, are they qualified to manage your entire DOT drug testing program?

Choosing the wrong partner will make companies face stress, inefficiencies, extra costs, and time-consuming tasks that could have been prevented in the first place.

REASON 1: They are not experts in DOT Regulations

The first place to start in finding the right consortium is making sure they are experts in DOT regulations.

You can analyze their expertise by reading their drug testing blog articles, see if they offer drug testing management training, and look at their customer reviews.

Our experts ensure that all DOT rules and regulations are followed, including the implementation of random drug tests for you and your drivers. We take all the necessary steps and precautions to keep you and your drivers compliant with the DOT drug and alcohol testing requirements.

In fact, CNS offers complete DOT compliance from licensing, driver file management, ELDs, audit services, and so much more.

It is our mission to make the roads a safer place for all to travel by improving the safety, protection, and compliance of the industries we serve. Our vision is to stay at the forefront of safety, compliance, and risk in an ever-changing industry.

READ CNS DRUG TESTING ARTICLES

REASON 2: They are not organized

The second critical consideration is organization and the simplicity to order, track, and access drug test results.

Carriers that manage their own drug testing programs quickly realize the complicated process of building a list of trustworthy drug testing sites across the nation, especially when a driver suddenly needs a drug test far away from home.

At CNS, our consortium offers an online results portal where our consortium clients can:

• order their own chain of custody forms for a drug test
• search collection sites near a driver location
• see the status of a chain of custody order and the results of the test, and
• download chain of custody forms for audit or other purposes.

We have over 15,000 collection sites we work with across the nation.

REASON 3: They are not customer friendly

Lastly, partner with a consortium that will go above and beyond in customer service.

While we vet our collection sites that we work with across the country, mistakes still happen that delay drug test results and slows the hiring process.

The best consortiums track down chain of custody forms, talk to labs about the status of the testing process and results, and work with collection sites and labs to address chain of custody form mistakes that need to be corrected before continuing.

All these things help speed up the testing process and help you get new drivers on the road faster.

Become a CNS Consortium member today

No matter if you are a single driver operation or have 15+ drivers in your fleet, we treat all our clients equally. Save time, money, and reduce stress by switch today.