There’s nothing quite like getting out from behind a desk and onto site. Last week, Zac from our Alpha Tracker Support team did exactly that—joining the asbestos surveyors from our partners at Acorn Asbestos for a day in the field. The goal? To see first-hand how surveys are carried out, how our software performs in real-world conditions, and—most importantly—where we can make things even better. We've had some repeat tickets from an asbestos surveyor and wanted to see the issue live - supporting our wonderful customers is *so* much easier in person. Why site visits matter We spend a lot of time building and refining Alpha Tracker and Tracker Mobile but the real test is always on site. Asbestos surveying isn’t done in ideal conditions. It’s tight spaces, awkward access, poor signal, and the constant need to work quickly and accurately. That’s exactly why Tracker Mobile has been designed to work offline, capture detailed data, and sync reliably later. But no matt...
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We have a new Calendar Sync module available. Get in touch with Support to organise your system update
Jack has published a new Calendar Sync update for Alpha Tracker.
This is a bug-fix update which will help busy asbestos consultancies especially. Jack has fixed a couple of bugs which affected appointments which were scheduled/deleted/rescheduled within a few seconds of being created - something that doesn't happen very often but does happen occasionally.
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| Busy, busy, busy! |
Calendar Sync is an Alpha Tracker feature which synchronises Alpha Tracker diary appointments into Microsoft (Outlook/Exchange) diaries or Google Calendar, so that site staff know their schedule simply by looking in their normal diary phone apps.
Get in touch with Alpha Tracker Support (UK or Australia/New Zealand) to organise your update.
"Office Hours" drop-in session on Wed 25 March 12:00-12:30. We'll be showing the new AI-powered Alpha Draw
We’re excited to announce that next week we will be starting our first series of Alpha Tracker “Office Hours” sessions. We hope you can join us.
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| Click this link to join the session from 12:00-12:30 on Wed 25 March |
To explain what “Office Hours” are (confession... most of us here at Start Software weren’t aware, either!), the term originally referred to academic help sessions in the US, where students could get personalised assistance outside of class. Our Alpha Tracker Office Hours sessions will be short, informal, half-hour drop-in sessions providing the opportunity for support, discussion, clarification, demonstration, advice – all sorts of help with any area of Alpha Tracker.
The Office Hours are live and interactive; we’ll be led by the topics you want to discuss. These are “cameras on” sessions for everyone, we’ll be on camera and so will you. To make you feel more comfortable, we won’t record the sessions.
Join Robin and Kim for the first session on Wednesday 25 March 2026 at 12:00. No need to pre-register, simply click the link between 12:00 – 12:30 on the day to join: https://whereby.com/alpha-tracker-office-hours
See you Wednesday!
Experimental AI tools published for asbestos consultancies - try them now! Free to use, please experiment and give us feedback
We’ve published a set of experimental AI tools designed for asbestos consultancies to explore and test.
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| There are six tools altogether (although one only applies if you're Norwegian!) |
These tools are currently being evaluated and refined. Once they have been thoroughly tested, the most successful features will be integrated into our asbestos software, Alpha Tracker, as part of our 2026 development roadmap.
Although the tools are being developed alongside Alpha Tracker, consultancies using other asbestos software are very welcome to try them and share feedback.
There are currently six tools available, including one developed specifically for the Norwegian asbestos industry.
The tools were previewed at the FAMANZ ASBESTOS 2026 conference in Sydney, and they are now available for anyone to try.
Photo Analyst
Analyses a photo of suspect materials and provides an AI-powered assessment of whether asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) may be present.
https://asbestos-photo-analyst.start-software.ai/
Building Analyst
Evaluates whole-structure photos to identify areas that may contain asbestos-containing materials.
https://asbestos-building-analyst.start-software.ai/
Asbestos Report QC
Checks asbestos survey reports for potential errors, omissions, and inconsistencies.
https://asbestos-report-qc.start-software.ai/
AI Asbestos Scanner (Norway)
Developed for the Norwegian asbestos industry and aimed primarily at contractors working in Norway.
Don’t worry if you don’t speak Norwegian! The tool includes an English/Norwegian toggle.
Asbestos Prompt Engineer
Helps you build reliable AI prompts for asbestos-related tasks when using tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude.
https://asbestos-prompt-engineer.start-software.ai/
Asbestos Report Extractor
Extracts key information from asbestos reports and allows the data to be downloaded into Excel and other formats.
https://asbestos-report-extractor.start-software.ai/
You can access the full set of tools here:
UK:
https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/ai-tools
Australia and New Zealand:
https://alpha-tracker.com.au/ai-tools
Please do try them and send us your feedback.
These tools are still experimental, and your feedback will help shape how AI is integrated into asbestos software Alpha Tracker in the future.
MASSIVE congratulations to the whole FAMANZ team for a wonderful Sydney conference - ASBESTOS 2026
ASBESTOS 2026 by FAMANZ has been an amazing event - 300+ attendees (most of whom seemed to know Judy!) - with Alpha Tracker asbestos consultancy clients everywhere we looked.
Robin's AI talk demo'd some of the experimental tools we've been building - and you can try them all for yourselves on our Australian/New Zealand Alpha Tracker or UK Alpha Tracker websites.
Ben from our fabulous Alpha Tracker asbestos consultancy Forensic Specialists won our bottle of South Australian champagne (from Penfolds) in our "have your photo taken and win the bottle" competition. Congrats Ben!
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| Judy, Ben & Robin (and the bottle) |
We collected so many photos over the 3 days of the conference that we actually ran out of printer paper!
Many of the discussions we had with our users (and prospective users) was around the use of AI Agents inside Alpha Tracker and outside, too. It's a good job we'd published our Alpha Tracker Roadmap before we came - it shows, in detail, what our plans are. We also picked up a whole load of great ideas along the way - conferences are great for that!
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| What a location, and what a venue (and view!) |
With the conference winding down, we had the "fun" job of packing up our stand. We did it in 10 minutes - just - not bad when Judy was suffering after picking up a netball injury, and Robin was still in a timezone somewhere between Sydney and Shanghai!
Thanks again to the organisers and all of our wonderful Alpha Tracker asbestos software users from Australia & New Zealand who have made the conference so much fun for us. See you again next year!
ASBESTOS 2026 has started! Alpha Tracker is a proud exhibitor and supporter of FAMANZ's 5th asbestos conference
Judy & Robin have arrived at Sydney's stunning Darling Harbour for FAMANZ's 5th asbestos conference called "ASBESTOS 2026" (see what they did, there!).
Our Australian business, Alpha Tracker Pty, based in Adelaide, is one of the exhibitors - and we're proud to say that we've been a sponsor and/or exhibitor at every one of the five FAMANZ asbestos events. We're here to talk to our amazing Australian & New Zealand asbestos consultancy clients, and also to meet other partners and potential partners including PAS and MPAR.
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| Robin (jetlagged!) and Judy with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the distance |
The event is really well attended, again, with more than 350 delegates. They represent the whole asbestos industry as well as organisations managing asbestos in buildings and asbestos software companies, like Alpha Tracker. Robin is going to be showing off the experimental Alpha Tracker AI tools for asbestos consultancies in his talk on Wednesday.
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| The welcome drinks always attracts a crowd! |
Our stand is busy, as usual with clients and prospective clients coming to say hello. To encourage new people to visit, we're running a competition this year to win a bottle of South Australian "champagne" from the mighty Penfolds. There is a lovely connection here for Judy & Robin - they visited Penfolds back in 2018 to help them with some on-site data capture technology, see https://blog.start-software.com/2018/05/software-meeting-at-penfolds-magill.html.
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| Instant prints - Polaroid-style - from a digital camera (the TimTam is for scale!) |
Visitors to our Alpha Tracker stand are offered the chance to have their photo taken and an instant print produced... with all photos going into a hat to win the bottle at the end of the conference.
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| The photo printer has been busy! |
Judy has been busy all day, right from the start at 08:00, and tomorrow and Wednesday are likely to be even busier with more delegates arriving.
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| Judy talking to an interested asbestos surveying company owner |
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| Come and find us - we're easy to spot! |
Lunch breaks give us a chance for some fresh air and to take in the stunning view over the harbour. What a venue and what a city!
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| Judy with Brett from Agon Environmental |
Come and find us again tomorrow - if you can squeeze through the crowds.
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| Robin has managed to avoid being in the photos (so far) |
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| Not a drone photo! Robin was up a staircase |
Congratulations to the event organisers at FAMANZ for putting on such an amazing conference and for encouraging so many interesting (and interested) people to attend. We're going to have a really productive and stimulating three days.
Our Alpha Tracker Roadmap is now available. Check out what we have planned for 2026
A Closer Look at What’s Coming Next
At Alpha Tracker we always listen closely to our users. That insight helps us plan updates that make the software more capable, easier to use and better suited to real world project workflows.
Our 2026 Alpha Tracker Roadmap sets out the major releases we have planned this year. These updates reflect customer feedback, industry demand and our ongoing commitment to practical improvements.
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| It's going to be a busy 2026 for the Alpha Tracker team! |
Release 42 (Q1): Customer-Driven Enhancements
We kick off the year with Release 42, which brings together a number of features we have been testing with customers:
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Improvements to Water Hygiene data collection and reporting, including enhanced Client Portal workflows
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Better automation of milestones and automated report email distribution
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Improved QR code support for field teams
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Enhanced admin automation, such as auto-populating of report recipients
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Completion of the Australian asbestos risk assessment methodology
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Ongoing security improvements across the product
This release lays a strong foundation for the rest of the year by focusing on core user needs and meaningful workflow improvements.
April: Release 42.1 — Technical and Cosmetic Refresh
Next up is Release 42.1, focused on general performance and usability:
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Updated software framework for better overall performance
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Faster import tools, making data loading quicker
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A fresh look and cleaner user interface, optimized for tablets and desktop
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Usage tracking to guide future performance improvements
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Integration with Assure360
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API updates to support integrations with external systems
These enhancements make Alpha Tracker easier and faster to use day-to-day.
May: Release 42.2 — AI Enhancements
Building on the AI work we started in 2025, Release 42.2 brings multiple AI-powered features:
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Jotter auto-summaries to help reduce time spent writing narrative text
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An AI photo analyser to assist with image tagging and interpretation
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Better list summaries throughout the product
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An updated and integrated AI QC checker
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Tracker Agent, our AI-powered replacement for Tracker Filer
These tools are designed to save time and support quality control across busy workflows.
June: Release 42.3 — Finance
Customers have been clear that finance workflows matter. Release 42.3 focuses on:
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Improved Xero integration for smoother accounting workflows
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Faster, easier invoicing
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A new application for payment process
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A special feature to support designated charities
This release makes financial processes in Alpha Tracker quicker and more flexible.
Custom Regional Updates: Release 42.4 (Australia & New Zealand)
We are batching up changes requested specifically by our Australian and New Zealand asbestos consultancy clients and delivering these in Release 42.4.
Later Releases in 2026
After that we have a series of updates focused on specific areas of the product:
Release 42.5: Sales, Customer Service and Client Portal
This update will improve how your customers interact with Alpha Tracker through the Client Portal and optimise internal sales and service processes.
Release 42.6: Calendar & Maps
Expect new and improved calendar views, tighter integration with What3Words, enhanced mapping capability and a new Calendar Sync module.
Release 42.7: Fire Risk Module
We are rebuilding the Fire Risk assessment module from the ground up and plan to release this later in the year.
Release 42.8: Accessibility
Alpha Tracker already meets many accessibility standards. In this release we go further, especially for users with limited vision.
Release 42.9: Technical Refresh
Towards the end of the year we intend to retire some older modules “behind the scenes” and replace them with a new product core, setting the stage for Release 43 and future development.
What This Means for You
This roadmap shows a clear progression through performance, usability, AI, finance, regional customisation and specialised updates. It reflects both our development priorities and the real needs of Alpha Tracker users.
We will continue to refine and adapt based on feedback as the year progresses, and you can expect each release to bring practical improvements to your workflows.
If you have specific ideas or requests for future releases, please get in touch. Your insight helps shape Alpha Tracker’s direction.