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Have you been asked to provide data for the ATaC/NORAC annual asbestos report ? We've created a free report for your Alpha Tracker asbestos system which will generate the data in the correct format for you to check and send on. AIC Data Extract report is now available Contact Jack if you want the report added to your system via 0333 301 1010 or support@start-software.com .

About Start Software

Start Software is an award-winning developer and leading publisher of asbestos software, systems for the legal services industry and more.

Want to know more about asbestos software Alpha Tracker? Alpha Tracker is the most used asbestos software in the UK, Australia & New Zealand with more than 60m items of asbestos data stored.

Our legal services software Alpha Legal helps will writers, accountants, solicitors, IFAs and estate agents to communicate securely with clients. Read about developments here on the blog.

Or need help with Alpha Anywhere or Alpha Transform projects or software development? You'll find useful info here.

Join us tomorrow (28 March) for our first Alpha Tracker webinar in 2024!

It's our first Alpha Tracker Tips & Tricks webinar tomorrow @ 12 noon!

Watch all of our past webinars here: https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/webinars

Join us to see our Forms feature in action.  You can now create your own forms to capture any data you like in our mobile app, Alpha Tracker Mobile.  Once you have captured data, you can view and complete the forms on your laptop and generate automatic reports.

You can register for the webinar (for free!) here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cNr2w1-MRfCYWHDl_xzNFw

Do you experience a slow-down in Alpha Tracker in the afternoon? We'd like to hear from you

We're trialling some software changes which will help if your Alpha Tracker system sometimes slows down as the day progresses.  

Experiencing slowdowns when you have your afternoon tea?  We want to hear from you

Please contact our Support Desks (UK or Aus/NZ) if you are experiencing this issue so that we can apply the change to your system.

The USA has banned the use of Chrysotile - finally

It's extraordinary to think that the USA has been so far behind other Western nations in banning the use of asbestos.  Finally, they seem to be catching up, and a ban on Chrysotile (so-called "white asbestos") has finally been announced.

An "Abestos Kills" protest on the streets of New York

It isn't quite that straightforward, of course.  Industries using asbestos will have 12 years to phase it out and, even then, there is a long list of exceptions to the ban.

We are yet to explore the US market with our asbestos software Alpha Tracker, but we have recently been contacted by American asbestos consultancies wanting to trial the system.

Jack is back! He's returned with mulch on his mind from Melbourne

Our Alpha Tracker product lead Jack is back in the UK from his trip to Melbourne.  He was working with our Australian director Judy at the FAMANZ conference in Melbourne, meeting asbestos consultancy clients old and new.

Whilst he was in Australia, the issue of asbestos in mulch was raised by several of our Sydney-based clients.  

Read about the story here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-68302052

Almost unbelievably, asbestos has been found in the mulch around play equipment in a Sydney park.  The scare has kept thousands of school students at home and forced the cancellation of a major Mardi Gras party. There was also panic after potential exposure sites were identified - but quickly cleared - at the Sydney venue for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert.

Judy, Jess and Leanne in our Alpha Tracker Adelaide office will be working with our Sydney asbestos consultancy clients to ensure that our software is helping them to identify and manage asbestos in mulch.

We should all know the name Nellie Kershaw

Nellie Kershaw was the first person to die of asbestos-related disease - or at least the first person to have that cause officially recognised.  Nellie worked in an asbestos mill, spinning fibres into yarn, and was exposed daily to asbestos-containing fibres.  She was only 33 when she died, and we mark her death this week because that was exactly 100 years ago.

It is exactly 100 years since Nellie Kershaw died of asbestos-related disease

The inquest into Nellie's death led to the publication of the first Asbestos Industry Regulations, in 1931.  It seems extraordinary that the number of asbestos-related deaths is still increasing year-on-year - a reminder to us all of the importance of the work we do in the asbestos management industry.


Apologies for the brief system outage on Friday 8 March. All services were back to normal by 18:30

We had some issues with system speed and availability on the Alpha Legal site on Friday 8 March between 16:00 and 18:30.  We are sorry about these technical issues which affected some clients and the completion of ID requests.

We're sorry for the brief system outage

The issues were fully resolved on Friday and we have taken additional steps to increase system resilience.  If you have any concerns, or want to discuss this incident in more detail, do get in touch.

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