Our Asbestos Re-inspection webinar is available on YouTube and our website

Our 18th(!) Alpha Tracker webinar is now available to watch on YouTube and our website.

Jack talking about the "push" asbestos re-inspection process

Kim, Robin & Jack explain the recommended ways to undertake asbestos re-inspections in Alpha Tracker. Learn the back-office and site processes involved and the key choice between the office-led "push" method and the surveyor-led "pull" process.

Click the video above or watch at alpha-tracker.co.uk/webinars.

Register to watch our upcoming webinar about risk assessments here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4mflGyntTMaIFbtInEPNbw

Congratulations Judy, Jaime & Leanne - Alpha Tracker Pty's best year ever

Many congratulations to our South Australia-based Alpha Tracker team - Director Judy along with Jaime & Leanne!

Congratulation Judy!

It looks like it has been the best year ever for our Australian & New Zealand Alpha Tracker business.  A raft of new consultancy, university and Health Board clients have helped the team to grow.

Many of our UK Alpha Tracker customers will also know Judy (especially) well - she often helps with UK asbestos report templates as well as helping Product Manager Jack with new feature ideas.

Judy and team pinged over quick celebratory selfies!

Judy & Jamie

Leanne

 

Welcome TRAC Associates - our latest Alpha Tracker asbestos consultancy

It's great to have some of the asbestos surveyors from TRAC Associates here today, working with Alpha Tracker Specialist Kim in our training suite.  TRAC are here to learn basics of the Alpha Tracker asbestos software including how to complete asbestos surveys using our site data capture app.

The TRAC asbestos consultants with Kim

TRAC Associates specialises in identifying and managing asbestos risk for commercial and public-sector clients across the UK. With decades of combined experience, their team works confidently across a wide variety of buildings and operational environments — from schools and hospitals to complex redevelopment projects.

They are known for delivering high-quality services under demanding operational conditions and tight commercial timescales, always remaining responsive to their clients' priorities without compromising on safety or quality.

With strong technical competencies, sector-specific qualifications, and deep construction industry experience, TRAC Associates is often engaged from the early design stages of complex projects through to the safe removal of asbestos. Their involvement helps reduce risk and supports informed decision-making at every phase of a redevelopment scheme.

Their services include detailed asbestos surveying, real-time air monitoring, and strategic risk management consultancy — all aimed at helping clients remain compliant, protected, and in control.

Core Services:

• Asbestos Surveying – Accurate identification of asbestos-containing materials.
• Air Monitoring – Ensuring environmental safety during and after asbestos works.
• Risk Management – Strategic support to manage and mitigate asbestos risks across the built environment.

We are delighted to be working with TRAC and supporting their growth through the use of Alpha Tracker.

Free asbestos re-inspection webinar next Wednesday at 12:00 noon

Would you like to know more about how Alpha Tracker can manage your asbestos re-inspections?

Join Kim and team on our free Zoom webinar on Wednesday 16 June at noon.

Join Kim and team for our asbestos re-inspections webinar

We'll be covering:

• different ways you can create a re-inspection in Alpha Tracker
  
  
• how to send data immediately to a surveyor already on site
  
  
• how to mark data to be sent at a future time - so-called "pending" re-inspections
  
  
• how surveyors can manage their own re-inspections, saving you admin time
  
  
• how to (re)send re-inspection items to a handset at any time
  
  
• the Client Portal view of re-inspected data
  
  
• how the Alpha Tracker Mobile app works in conjunction with desktop Alpha Tracker

We'll be taking questions during the webinar, too, so ask anything you want!

Click to register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hyxOLc2oR8efyXiOmJiyvw

Watch the recordings of all our Alpha Tracker webinars: https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/webinars

10K for 10K! The Alpha Tracker team mark the 10,000th software update in Alpha Tracker with a 10K run

Alpha Tracker has reached a major milestone - the 10,000th software update!

Each time Jack and his team finalise an Alpha Tracker software change, they "commit" it to our software source control system.  This process is carefully controlled and forms part of our ISO9001 Quality Control system.  Each change is numbered and - incredibly - we have now reached the milestone of 10,000 updates committed.

The 10,000th update wasn't particularly memorable or special (it fixed a problem with drawings and certificates when reinspecting hazmat data!) but it is quite an achievement.  By the way, Release 41.6 of Alpha Tracker is in final testing now with Release 42 well underway and on track for an autumn release.  

To mark the occasion, some of the Alpha Tracker team committed to running the Shrewsbury 10K.  Yesterday was the big day, with Dan leading the field (finishing in an impressive 44 minutes).  The Shrewsbury 10K is particularly hilly and challenging, so it was brilliant to see all of the team finish so strongly.

The Alpha Tracker 10K for 10K team

Congratulations to Product Manager Jack for continuing the innovation and development in Alpha Tracker and well done Kim, El, Dan, Robin, Jamie, Jack, Mary & Catherine for being part of a very special morning.  Marina, Laura & Hannah couldn't squeeze into the photo but were brilliant supporters.

The after-run brunch at Hickory's went down a treat!

All smiles after the event

Would you like a discussion about Alpha Tracker and what it can do for your asbestos, water hygiene or fire consultancy?  Our constant innovation and desire to improve directly benefit our environmental consultancy users.  Get in touch! (UK or Aus/NZ) 

Support Desk performance - June 2025

Our Support Desk team in June resolved 761 tickets across all of our software systems.  We helped... 

• asbestos surveyors (Alpha Tracker)
• water hygiene technicians (Alpha Tracker)
• legal advisors and will writers (Alpha Legal/Legacy Portal)
• ecological consultants (ecoScribe)
• CleanUpBritain supporters (RoadVlog)
• and many, many more!

Here's Dan & Lucas helping a caller earlier today:

Dan & Lucas (pretending to answer the phone)

97.4% of callers were happy with their ticket response in June, let's hope that Lucas's caller will be another happy customer when we look at July's statistics!

From the Palace of Westminster to Mesothelioma UK's HQ - the portrait of Mavis & Ray Nye is on the move again

Our Alpha Tracker director Robin and UKNAR's Andrew Paten were on the road on Thursday moving the beautiful portrait painting of asbestos campaigners Mavis & Ray Nye.

For the last few months, it has been hanging in the Palace of Westminster, in Sir Stephen Timms' office.  Sir Stephen has taken an active interest in asbestos policy in the UK since become the Chairman of the Work & Pension Committee in the previous government.

The portrait of Mavis & Ray with Sir Stephen

The next location is going to be Mesothelioma UK's Loughborough's HQ so we had to start the process of moving the picture from London to the Midlands.

Andrew & Robin boxed it up, took it out of Portcullis House, then headed off.

Andrew outside Portcullis House

Robin waiting for a taxi (which didn't arrive)

... perhaps a bus?

It had to be a Tube!

The painting is now waiting in a safe London space waiting for the courier to collect and deliver to Meso UK to be proudly displayed and seen by many more asbestos campaigners and nurses.

UKATA Conference is in full swing. Jamie & Kim are meeting asbestos consultancy Alpha Tracker users inbetween presentations

 "Beyond Awareness" is the theme of this year's UKATA asbestos conference, and we're pleased at Alpha Tracker to be part of it.

Kim & Jamie at the Nottingham conference venue

It's always fun to bump into our asbestos consultancy Alpha Tracker users, and here is Kim with Professor Roger Willey from ACS:

Kim & Roger

Our old friend Dr Yvonne Waterman has her first UKATA stand, too, showing off the first edition of her fabulous Global Asbestos Forum magazine.

Yvonne meeting new readers

Our 17th webinar recording is now available on our website and YouTube. Watch to learn all about security in Alpha Tracker and beyond

Do you know how to add new users, remove leavers and set up Alpha Tracker Client Portal users?

Would you like a quick briefing on the key cybersecurity risks and what you can do to protect yourself?

Are you looking for reassurance that Alpha Tracker is protected from hacking, after hearing about the problems at M&S, Co-op and Harrods?

Watch our webinar recording (our 17th!) and get answers to all of these questions (and more):

Kim & Robin in action (Jack was hiding in a pod)

Click this link to watch on YouTube or click the video below:

Watch our previous Alpha Tracker webinars here: https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/webinars

Catch Kim & Jamie at the UKATA Conference on Thursday. You might even win an Alpha Tracker t-shirt!

Alpha Tracker asbestos software specialists Kim & Jamie will be at the UKATA Asbestos Conference on Thursday this week, sporting our new "10K" Alpha Tracker t-shirts.  They even have one to give away!

What's the "10K" connection?  Ask Kim & Jamie to find out

Find our stand and ask about our latest Alpha Tracker software updates and features.  We'd love to chat to you!

New Water feature within Alpha Tracker - an easier way to record when actions are completed and risks are closed

You and your clients can now record when water hygiene actions are completed and risks are closed within Alpha Tracker's water sub-system.

Look for the system at the site (1), then drill down from the system (2) to the asset/outlet (3) and the relevant risk (4):

Drill down to record when actions are completed (5) and risks are closed

You can record an unlimited number of completed actions (for monthly tasks, for example) and the system is clever enough to close the risk if a one-off task has been marked as complete.

Your clients can also do the same activity in the Water Client Portal given them control over the risks and actions assigned to them.

For more information, contact Support.  This feature will be generally available as part of Release 41.6.

Dan would have done less time for murder! 15 years of service to Start Software

Dan's 15-year career with Start Software has seen him grow from an apprentice software developer into a mature, trusted, senior leader appreciated by his colleagues and clients around the world in equal measure.

His technical skills are incredible, but it is his attention to detail, ability to plan, and determination to always do his best make that make him an exceptional person to work alongside.

It's a shame that the only 15-year celebration card we could find was for wedding anniversaries, not work ones, but it's the thought that counts, Dan!

Robin & Dan outside the Start Software UK offices

Thank you Dan for your service - we hope you'll still be running the show in 2040!

Our first Summer Webinar will be on Wed 18 June at 12 noon. Join us to learn about security within Alpha Tracker

Join us on our first *free* summer webinar of 2025 to find out all about Alpha Tracker security.  

We'll be covering the basics of setting up users & passwords to the complex safeguards we employ to protect your data and documents from cyber-attack.

Our webinars are short and fun (just like Jack!)

The *free* webinar will be held on Wed 18 June at 12 noon.  Here is the registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IujGWAClRrGJqo_rDXR9yg

All of our past webinars are available to watch again here: https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/webinars

The faster water sync is now available in the Alpha Tracker Mobile app. Speak to our Support Desk to enable it

Jack has released another update to our Alpha Tracker Mobile app.

This version has a number of changes to improve the app for water hygiene technicians.  The most important is a new water sync process which is much faster and less prone to problems when there is poor data connection.

Look how happy this water tech is! (PS fake news - AI generated!)

Contact the Support Desk for more information.

Zac & his Support Team answered 852 tickets in May

Not the busiest month, but still plenty of tickets to answer for Zac, Lucas, Melika & Jamie. 852 tickets in total were responded to through the month of May.

Zac (with Dan) a long time ago (he doesn't look as young now!)

Zac's new focus on Support Desk performance is really paying off and we hope that our clients are noticing even better response times.  Don't forget, we're open 24x7 to help you - so call or email us whenever you need assistance.

Spot Kim on the UKATA Conference poster and win a prize! Also come and meet us on our stand...

We're exhibiting at the UKATA Conference in Nottingham on Thursday 26 June.

Alpha Tracker specialists Kim & Jamie will be on our stand with lots of information about our latest software releases and with plenty of freebies to give away.

Spot Kim on the poster and win an extra prize!

Kim is very excited about appearing on the UKATA poster for the event.  If you can spot her, there's an extra prize waiting for you...!

Start Software developers Lucas & Melika travel to Birmingham to meet our new client, Wilkinson Beven

Birmingham-based interior designers Wilkinson Beven have asked us to redevelop their business management system.  We're turning their desktop Access-based system into a new web and mobile application powered by the Alpha framework.

You can't beat a bit of Bully!

Our software developers Lucas & Melika travelled to Birmingham with director Robin this week to meet the team at Wilkinson Beven and to show the first draft of their new system.  We stopped by Grand Central to meet Ozzy the Bull - what a machine!

More asbestos consultancies have chosen Alpha Tracker asbestos software in the UK and Australia

We've had a flurry of asbestos consultancies join the Alpha Tracker family in the UK and Australia.

One of the new customers is a start-up business.  The MD dropped us a message to say "I've come from a consultancy which uses Alpha Tracker so I know the ins and outs, and it's a great system!".  How kind!

Can we help your asbestos consultancy to improve efficiency and quality?  Get in touch! UK/Australia & New Zealand.

There's a new Alpha Tracker Mobile app in the app stores

We've been improving performance within Alpha Tracker Mobile.  The most noticeable change is that signing off reports is now much quicker for asbestos surveyors.

Visit https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/alpha-tracker-mobile for more info

Your team will receive the update automatically on their Apple and Android devices.

The new Global Asbestos Forum Magazine is out! Congrats Yvonne & team

Dr Yvonne Waterman's European Asbestos Forum is now the Global Asbestos Forum, and the first edition of the new magazine is out!

The Global Asbestos Forum Magazine on director Robin's desk

In the first edition of the magazine, across nearly 100 pages, you can read

• interviews
• technical articles
• scientific papers
• discussions about construction & asbestos removal
• denaturation
• legislation
• policy
• people stories
• upcoming conferences
• advocacy & campaigns
• major world events
• book reviews
• and more!

Congratulations Yvonne! Asbestos software Alpha Tracker will be contributing to the next edition, ready for the conference in Bergen, Norway, in November 2025.

We're building a new farming app... meeting the family behind the idea on BBC Countrywide

A farming family local to our Shropshire HQ is introducing innovation throughout their business, and the two sons driving the farm forward featured this week on BBC Countryfile: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002cgz8/countryfile-shropshires-nature-comeback

Watch the Nicholson brothers on BBC iPlayer

We're currently working with the Nicholson family to develop an app to help them and other dairy farmers.  Watch this space!

Mavis & Ray's time in Westminster is up - where next for their wonderful portrait?

The beautiful portrait of beloved asbestos campaigners Mavis & Ray Nye has been hanging in the parlimentary office of Sir Stephen Timms.  

Ray, Mavis & Sir Stephen Timms

We're so grateful to Sir Stephen and Julia Buckley MP (Alpha Tracker director Robin's local Member of Parliament) for helping us to achieve Mavis's goal - to get her picture in parliament so that her story could be told and heard by the UK's asbestos policy makers.

The big question is... where should the portrait head next?  It has been to many events and many countries - but where do you think it should be displayed when we collect it from the Houses of Parliament?  Please do get in touch with Robin with your ideas.

Our Support Technicians are learning to become ecological consultants... for good reason!

If you regularly call our Support Desk, you'll know Zac and his wonderful team - Melika, James & Lucas.  They are normally busy helping our environmental consultancies with questions about Alpha Tracker, but they are now finding themselves talking to ecological consultants following the successful launch of our ecoScribe service.

To help the team deliver the best service to our new clients, ecological specialist Dan from our client Estrada Ecology came on site today to give our team some basic ecological training - what a great day for it in the Telford sunshine!

Can we help your ecological consultancy to become more efficient and effective?  Get in touch!

Kim is at the BOSH/FAAM Asbestos Conference in Birmingham. Find her and say hello!

Our Alpha Tracker asbestos software specialist Kim is at the BOSH/FAAM conference in Birmingham again today: https://login.bohs.org/BOHS/iCore/Events/Event_display.aspx?EventKey=ASBESTOS25

Kim with clients and friends from around the world

Lots of our wonderful Alpha Tracker asbestos consultancy clients from the UK and from Australia & New Zealand are at the conference so it has been well worth attending.  It's always great to catch up, listen to ideas, and meet industry leaders such as Dr Yvonne Waterman, Jonathan Grant, John Cherrie, Sam Lord, John Richards, Paul Beaumont and Kevin Bampton and more!

If you would like a 1-1 call with Kim after the conference, get in touch!

Zac & team join the 99% club with 99.2% of urgent tickets resolved within 2 hours during April

Zac and his Support Team responded to 957 tickets in April.  More than 99% of the urgent tickets raised were resolved within our 2-hour target time - a fantastic result.

Zac looking appropriately surprised!

The number of open tickets has also been kept under control, with only one ticket remaining open at close-of-business on the Friday before the long weekend.  That's one ticket between hundreds of client companies - quite an achievement!

Overall, nearly 94% of tickets were solved within the timescales requested by the caller during April.

We've made the asbestos Client Portal significantly faster to load. Get in touch if your clients are reporting slow access

Do your larger clients find the asbestos Client Portal slow to load?  We've finished an update which makes it significantly faster to load.

The asbestos Client Portal is now much faster to load

We'll be making this improvement available as a patch for asbestos software Alpha Tracker.  Get in touch with Alpha Tracker Support (UK or Aus/NZ) to request the patch.

Dan has arrived in Baltimore to help on the OERCA stand at B’More RAW 2025. We love meeting our clients and our clients' clients!

Our client OERCA is a sponsor at aquarium conference B’More RAW 2025 - a huge event bringing professionals and vendors together from the aquatic community.

Dan leads our team of Alpha software developers extending and improving OERCA and has joined OERCA's Mark & Todd on the stand today to meet clients and listen to feedback following our latest software updates.

The conference is being held at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel

The two conference venues are the Baltimore Harborplace Hotel and the National Aquarium.  What a great city to hold the conference!  Dan is back next week in Telford bringing ideas and feedback to his team.

Alpha Tracker Release 42 plans are nearly complete. Do you want us to squeeze another feature in?

We're just about to wrap up the feature-list for asbestos & water hygiene software Alpha Tracker Release 42.  Is there anything you'd like to suggest for us to squeeze in?

Ideas-a-plenty for Release 42

We're already focusing on:

• performance in the water hygiene screens
• performance in the asbestos client portal (larger clients will notice the difference)
• tighter FLS integration
• Lab Sample Exchange
• a new risk assessment algorithm for our Australian Alpha Tracker asbestos consultancies
• an updated Alpha Tracker Mobile (better when taking 100s of water hygiene photos)
• our AI-powered "Ask Alfie" feature integrated to help you to find answers to your Alpha Tracker questions.

Do get in touch with Jack, our Alpha Tracker Product Manager, with your ideas and suggestions.

Asbestos consultancy Nova Group UK are now live! Welcome to asbestos software Alpha Tracker

Welcome Matt and colleagues from Nova Group UK to asbestos software Alpha Tracker!

Our Alpha Tracker specialist Kim completed their training today by Teams

Kim in her training pod

Can we help you to automate your asbestos consultancy?  Get in touch for a free demo and discussion (UK or Aus/NZ).

Have you responded to the HSE consultation "Asbestos Regulatory Reforms: Accreditation of Surveying Organisations" yet?

We've all got until Friday 18 April to respond to the HSE's latest consultation which, in part, asks whether accreditation should be mandatory for asbestos surveying organisations.

The HSE are asking for opinions on accreditation and surveying cost

We've responded on behalf of our asbestos software, Alpha Tracker.

Here is the link if you need it: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=vlNZax1rgEmya1btiwvz3PcpwYeIfNxGh6sOnYOsPwdUREJSWjc1UjFDTUJPNlA0RVFaQUczQVBXVy4u&route=shorturl

Lots happening during Global Asbestos Awareness Week (#2025GAAW) including the UK launch of a devastating new report

This week is Global Asbestos Awareness Week (#2025GAAW) - an international initiative designed to raise awareness of asbestos.  Here at Alpha Tracker we support GAAW each year with a variety of initiatives alongside industry organisations such as UKATA, the HSE and UK and international charities.

There have been a number of tragic stories in the press this week that relate to the (lack of) awareness of asbestos and the impact on lives.  Here is one such story - a vintage railway engineer who worked on the iconic Orient Express but wasn't adequately protected:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14558655/Iconic-Orient-Express-gave-incurable-cancer-Vintage-carriage-restorer-line-500-000-damages-exposure-deadly-asbestos-working-luxury-sleeper-train.html

Read more about Malcolm Gelsthorpe's story here

In this internationally important week, a new UK report has been launched by Asbestos Information CIC mapping the presence of asbestos across the UK and comparing risks against more familiar ones (eg the danger of being killed in a road accident).  We'll be offering our full support, giving our Alpha Tracker asbestos consultancy clients the opportunity to extract data in formats suitable for sharing.

The Daily Mail have covered the report's launch - read here

Alpha Tracker has a large number of integrations enabling data sharing including the OpenAsbestos data sharing protocol - read more here: https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/integrations

London AI workshop with Piers Linney and Aalok Shukla. We went with ideas to share, and brought back 20 more!

Yesterday's trip to London was worth every mile (and the inevitable train delays...)

Attending with my fellow directors, we caught up with Piers Linney and Aalok Shukla again to discuss the state of AI and how it can benefit businesses such as ours and - more importantly - our customers.

Robin, Jonathan, Piers

Robin will be holding a private webinar for invited guests to discuss the potential compact on the asbestos industry including the features we're building into Alpha Tracker.  Watch out for the invitation email.

First time reaching 300 raised tickets in one week!

March was another strong month for our Support Desk, with the team handling a total of 1,081 tickets. Notably, we achieved a milestone with 300 raised tickets in a single week! Our commitment to timely support remained steadfast, as 95% of these tickets were resolved within the target timeframe.

This image was created by Maria using Photoshop!

We take immense pride in our Support Desk's consistent performance and dedication to customer satisfaction. If you require assistance with any of our software solutions, please don't hesitate to reach out to our 24/7 support service.

Meet Maria from Finland!

Maria has come to stay in the UK for a two week vocational study exchange, from the happiest country in the world! She is a graphics designer and animator who will be spending the day here, at Start Software.​

Maria meeting Team Leader Dan

During the day, Maria will have the opportunity to observe our team's workflows, participate in collaborative projects, and showcase her creative skills. She will be looking into the UI for our CleanUpBritain app, and we will be showing her Alpha Tracker and ecoScribe. Her fresh perspective and artistic expertise are highly anticipated, and we believe this exchange will be mutually enriching.

Maria introducing herself to us

Maria is enthusiastic about meeting new people and engaging in tech-related work. We hope she enjoys the day with us!

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