Change coming soon for Alpha Legal subscribers using the Legacy software from CTT Group

If you are an Alpha Legal subscriber who also uses the Legacy software from CTT Group, you will have received an email from CTT explaining an upcoming improvement to the service being provided.

A change is coming in May!

Instead of requiring two subscriptions, one to Alpha Legal and another to CTT, from 1 May 2024 you will only need a Legacy subscription.  Your Alpha Legal direct debit will be cancelled and, instead, your Legacy subscription will be increased by the same amount so that you don't need to make two payments each month.

At the same time, any unused Alpha Legal credits will be transferred to the equivalent number of Legacy credits (or higher) so that you can still request ID from Legacy without needing to buy credits within your Alpha Legal subscription.

Finally, you will also notice that the Alpha Legal service for Legacy software users will be rebranded as Legacy Portal.  This change reflects the new Legacy Portal app and the close connection between our two companies.

Don't worry, there will no interruption in service.  Our two companies are working closely together to make the transition seamless for you.

If you are concerned, or have any questions, you can contact CTT Group's partnership team via partnershipteam@ctt-group.co.uk.  You can also call the Alpha Legal Help Desk on 0333 301 1010 or email help@alphalegal.co.uk.

Are you sending data to ATaC/NORAC for their annual asbestos report? We can help

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.

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.

Read more about the story here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68602748

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.

Start Software app "OnTimeCare" features as one of the "5 Great Apps"

Alpha Software has published a "5 Great Apps" video, and OnTimeCare, an Alpha Anywhere application built by Start Software for New York-based Patient Innovations has featured at position #2.

OnTimeCare ranks #2 in Alpha Software's "5 Great Apps" list

OnTimeCare is a complex, feature-rich application for the US healthcare industry.  It uses innovative algorithms to reduce waiting time across health centre settings, for patients and healthcare staff alike.

The user interface for OnTimeCare makes it easy for staff to monitor and manage flow to reduce wasted time and minimise frustration, maximising treatment times and provider revenue.  It has a sophisticated booking engine which predicts no-shows and habitually-late arrivers, automating reminders and even filling late-availability appointments with standby patients.

Watch Alpha's "5 Great Apps" video and see what apps are possible using Alpha Software's software development platforms.  And do contact us for help - we're Alpha Software's Professional Partners and can offer a range of mentoring, consultancy and troubleshooting services for the Alpha developer community.

Two Alpha Tracker orders to end a busy week of demos and discussions

Two environmental consultancies have placed orders for Alpha Tracker this week.  Both are switching from other systems and so we're especially pleased to be welcoming them to the Alpha Tracker family.

Two more consultancies are joining Alpha Tracker

The first switcher is a large consultancy specialising in asbestos, and so they are looking forward to using the specialist asbestos features available in Alpha Tracker.  They work nationwide and have a large number of site staff working across a range of properties, from domestic to commercial.

The second new Alpha Tracker users focuses on fire and water services, with some asbestos work alongside.

We still have space for one more implementation before the summer, so do get in touch if we can help your asbestos, fire or water consultancy to switch to Alpha Tracker.

Catherine & Kieran have successfully negotiated our ISO9001 and ISO27001 audits. Well done to them and our team!

Project Manager Catherine and consultant Kieran have just been told that our Quality (ISO9001) and Information Security (ISO27001) audits were successful.  That's quite an achievement, not least because we've restructured our business since the last auditor visits and made several changes to our processes.

Catherine (front) and some of the team behind her - literally and metaphorically!

Well done Catherine and thanks to Kieran for his expertise and input.  You can download and verify our certifications (and our insurance policies and other legal documents) here: https://start-software.com/legal

FAMANZ Asbestos 2024 has come to an end. What a great conference and event for all Australian and New Zealand asbestos consultancies to meet and share

The premier asbestos conference in Australia and New Zealand, FAMANZ Asbestos 2024, has come to an end.  Judy & Jack were on the Alpha Tracker stand to meet clients old and new.

Judy with Rich from Virotech

Identifibre at the Alpha Tracker stand

Australian director Judy with Alpha Tracker Product Lead Jack

See you all next year!

The Big C Atlantic Challenge is underway again! Andrew is building his new boat ready for May 2025

We've been in touch with Andrew Bedwell since his first attempt at crossing the Atlantic in the shortest boat ever didn't go to plan.  Andrew's Big C Atlantic Challenge is underway again - what great news!

Our sponsorship of Andrew's incredible challenge helped him to build and equip his first boat, and Andrew is using the knowledge he gained in his new design.  Panels have been designed and laser-cut this week - and the second iteration of his vessel is starting to take shape.

The 3D jigsaw puzzle begins

We'll keep our blog readers updated as the boat takes shape and we hope to visit Andrew's expedition base as soon as the boat is ready to view.

716 tickets raised in February, 655 resolved on time

We've just completed the analysis of the Support Team's performance in February 2024.

Out of 716 tickets raised by clients, 655 were resolved on time (that means within the timescales requested by the caller).  That's 91.5% of all tickets raised - not bad at all.

We asked AI to create the image for the blog post - odd but not bad!

We're proud of our Support Desk, not least because we're available 24x7, in person.  We're here to help - so call us anytime and we'll do our best to answer your question or fix your problem.

Alpha Tracker at FAMANZ, Melbourne

Alpha Tracker is at FAMANZ 2024 in Melbourne, proudly exhibiting and supporting this excellent asbestos conference.  We attend every year - it's a key milestone in the asbestos calendar in Australia & New Zealand.

Jack, Judy and the Alpha Tracker booth

Judy & Jack have already spoken to many of our Australian and New Zealand asbestos consultancy clients during the first day of the conference.  We've also had interest from new customers looking to switch from other software.  If you can commit to switching before the end of FAMANZ 2024, I'm sure Judy can even give you a special offer!

Jack is on his way to Melbourne for the FAMANZ asbestos conference with Judy. He's going with Harry Redknapp, apparently!

The FAMANZ Asbestos 2024 Conference is starting on Monday, and Jack is travelling to Melbourne to work with Judy, Leanne & Jess from Alpha Tracker in Australia.

"when Harry met Jack"

Look who Jack bumped into at the airport - Harry Redknapp!  

Jack will be talking to our Alpha Tracker asbestos consultancies from Australia and New Zealand as well as meeting prospective new clients.  It's a long trip but it's worth it - we love to meet our customers face-to-face.

Have you seen our new websites? We've been busy updating them to help our clients

We've published new versions of our Start Software and Alpha Tracker websites.

Our new business website at start-software.com highlights the range of products and software development services we can provide.

visit start-software.com

Our Alpha Tracker website has also been updated with new content.  Take a look here: 

visit alpha-tracker.co.uk

Would you like us to add more content to help you?  Get in touch!

"4 for the price of 1"... Alpha TransForm/Alpha Anywhere/Alpha Cloud/ChatGPT webinar now available. Robin talking to Alpha Software's Dave McCormick

Robin joined Alpha Software's Dave McCormick to demonstrate a link we've built between TransForm, Alpha Anywhere, Alpha Cloud & ChatGPT.  The webinar recording is now available on YouTube.

Do watch and see how the power of ChatGPT can be used to extend what TransForm can do for you and your clients.

Click to find out more about Start Software's Alpha consultancy services and our AI expertise.