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| Some of the photos from the day |
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| Jack & Jamie testing asbestos report production |
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| Follow our progress at https://300-miles.start-software.ai |
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| The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was a work of genius |
Alpha Tracker Release 42 is not quite that, but it is still a huge update, with the usual hundreds of improvements, new features, performance enhancements and bug fixes.
Important! It will probably also be the final major update to the core Alpha Tracker system before we begin rolling out our complete rewrite, built using a new technology stack, later in 2026. You can read more about our plans on the Alpha Tracker roadmap.
Jack, Ferry, Judy, Kim and the rest of the team have had a lot of fun creating this release. As always, we have also worked hard to implement ideas and suggestions from our wonderful customers.
More than 600 improvements and updates across every area of Alpha Tracker
Major Water Hygiene enhancements, including clearer risk logic to improve how water risks are presented on the Client Portal
A new LRA Review water project type, making it easier to revisit, review and update information from previous Legionella Risk Assessments
Instant AI analysis of survey items from photographs, helping surveyors assess materials more quickly and consistently
Further support for Australian asbestos material assessment scoring, helping asbestos teams work in line with updated Australian requirements
A new Report Dashboard on the Home screen, giving teams a clearer overview of report production across their projects
Improved Alpha Tracker performance, thanks to an updated version of the underlying software framework
Faster imports using the Alpha Tracker Work Queue, improving the speed of some of our most popular data imports
Improved site-sharing visibility, making it clearer which sites have been shared and helping teams manage access more confidently
Enhanced site register controls, including a new hidden-items tab and site-level QR-code password protection for greater control over site information
We have received a small number of reports of instability following the framework update. As of 25 July 2026, we believe we have identified and fixed the issue, and deployment of the fix to affected systems is under way.
Full details of Alpha Tracker Release 42, including the Release Notes and Highlights document, are available on our latest release page.
You can also join us for our Release 42 webinar on Tuesday 28 July at 11:30am. Find out more and register for the Release 42 webinar
On Tuesday 28 July, the Start Software and Alpha Tracker UK team will be taking on an ambitious office challenge for Cancer Research UK.
Together, we are going to cycle 300 miles in a single day.
Thankfully, we aren’t expecting everyone to squeeze onto one bike.
Dan and Robin will set off from our Telford office and cycle approximately 75 miles each to Aberdyfi on the Welsh coast.
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| Looks like Robin needs to practice wearing his helmet |
Meanwhile, back at Start Software HQ, the rest of our UK team will complete the remaining 150 miles as a relay on a static bike outside the office.
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| Kim spinning her wheels |
That means the pedals will need to keep turning throughout the day, whatever the weather and however tired everyone’s legs become!
Please visit our Cancer Research UK fundraising page and make a donation
Cancer has affected several members of the Start Software team.
Some of us have lost people we love. Others are currently experiencing cancer first-hand, trying to carry on with everyday life while undergoing treatment, attending appointments and living with continual tests and monitoring.
It is something that touches almost every family, friendship group and workplace.
We wanted to do something positive together, while raising money to support Cancer Research UK’s vital work to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.
Because cycling 300 miles in a day apparently isn’t enough of a challenge, we are doing it on the same day as our Alpha Tracker Release 42 webinar!
The webinar takes place on:
Tuesday 28 July 2026
11:30am–12:15pm UK time
You will be able to see how the challenge is progressing live during the webinar, including the office relay team pedalling away in the background. We are also hoping to bring you updates from Dan and Robin as they make their way towards the coast.
Alongside the cycling, we will still be showing you the highlights of Release 42, what has changed in Alpha Tracker and some of the exciting developments coming next.
Register for the Release 42 webinar on LinkedIn
You can also find information about the webinar on our Alpha Tracker webinars page.
Every donation, large or small, will encourage the team and help Cancer Research UK continue its life-saving research.
Please donate through our official fundraising page:
Donate to the Start Software Cancer Research UK challenge
You can also help enormously by sharing the page with your colleagues, friends and family.
Thank you for supporting us. We will keep the pedals turning, and we hope you will join us online to cheer everyone on!
300 miles. One day. One team. Together, we can help beat cancer.
24 July update: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/robins-giving-page-2044?feed=56da40e4-fd8c-40d2-84e8-dc66543336b2
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| The Alpha Tracker API enables other systems to securely connect to Alpha Tracker |
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| Catherine, Dan, Jack, Robin in planning mode |
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| Join Kim, Robin & the team |
We are pleased to confirm that the cloud issue affecting Alpha Tracker users in the UK earlier today has now been resolved.
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| Cloud issues are now resolved |
Our team worked closely with our cloud technical support specialists to investigate the problem and restore normal service. Alpha Tracker is now available again and systems are operating normally.
We are continuing to monitor the service closely and will review the incident to understand what happened and whether any further steps can be taken to reduce the risk of a similar disruption.
We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused, particularly to teams who rely on Alpha Tracker throughout their working day.
Thank you to everyone affected for your patience and understanding while the problem was being resolved.
Friday 10 July 2026 11:50.
We are sorry but an issue in the cloud has affected Alpha Tracker for many UK users throughout the morning.
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| The Alpha Cloud cloud has a major issue this morning |
Symptoms will include slow access or difficulties connecting or logging in.
We are working with our cloud technical support to diagnose and resolve. We will update affected clients as soon as we are able.
Thank you for your patience.
We’re delighted to welcome Bridgend Asbestos Services Ltd to the Alpha Tracker family!
We’ve just completed Alpha Tracker training with the BAS team at their offices in Bridgend, and it was great to spend time with such a friendly, knowledgeable and hands-on team.
Bridgend Asbestos Services provide specialist asbestos services across South Wales and the surrounding areas, including asbestos surveys, asbestos sampling, air monitoring, four-stage clearance testing, asbestos management and asbestos removal support.
The Bridgend Asbestos Services team
Like many asbestos consultancies, BAS have a lot to keep track of: jobs, sites, surveys, samples, reports, documents, certificates, appointments and customer communications.
That’s exactly where Alpha Tracker asbestos software comes in.
During the training session, we worked through how the BAS team can use Alpha Tracker to help manage their asbestos work more efficiently, from the office through to site-based activity. It was particularly nice to see the team trying things out on phones and tablets straight away, which is always the best way to bring the system to life.
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| Using Tracker Mobile asbestos site surveying app during the training session |
Alpha Tracker is built for specialist teams like Bridgend Asbestos Services. It helps bring together the day-to-day admin, technical records and reporting workflows that asbestos consultancies depend on.
For BAS, this means having a system that can support their work across asbestos surveys, air monitoring, clearance testing and wider asbestos management activities, while helping keep information organised and accessible.
The team at work
A big thank you to everyone at Bridgend Asbestos Services for making us so welcome.
It was lovely to visit the office, meet the team properly, and see the BAS setup in action. We’re really looking forward to working with you and supporting you as you start using Alpha Tracker.
Welcome to the Alpha Tracker family, Bridgend Asbestos Services!
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| Talk to us! You have a chance to shape Tracker Agent |
It can also help with tasks such as scheduling appointments into your diary.
But Tracker Filer was created before the current generation of AI tools, and there is now an opportunity to make it much more powerful.
Tracker Filer is being completely rewritten as an AI-powered agent that can work on your behalf.
The new tool, Tracker Agent, is already in development. The aim is to allow everyday Alpha Tracker tasks to be triggered directly from an email, saving time and reducing manual admin.
We are currently working on features that allow Tracker Agent to:
All of this can happen straight from an email. You simply send or forward the email to Tracker Agent, and it can take the appropriate action for you.
We think this could become a major timesaver for Alpha Tracker users.
Of course, any AI-powered automation needs to be handled carefully.
As part of the development work, we are thinking carefully about permissions, audit trails and sensible safeguards, so that Tracker Agent only does the things it should be allowed to do.
The goal is not just to make Alpha Tracker more automated, but to make it more useful, more controlled and more accountable.
This is where we would really value your ideas.
What everyday tasks do you think could be safely triggered from an email? Are there small admin jobs that take up time in your team? Are there common emails that always result in the same Alpha Tracker action?
For example, should Tracker Agent help with chasing missing information, updating job statuses, assigning work, adding notes, creating tasks, sending acknowledgements, or something else entirely?
We are especially interested in ideas from people who use Alpha Tracker every day, because you know better than anyone where the time savings could be.
If you have a suggestion, please get in touch and tell us what you would like Tracker Agent to be able to do for you.
You can also view the full Alpha Tracker roadmap for 2026 here: https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/roadmap
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| Visit famanz.org for more info |
There is also a useful international comparison for UK readers. FAMANZ highlights the UK HSE’s decision not to lower Great Britain’s asbestos control limit, while noting that the European Union is moving towards a lower occupational exposure limit. The HSE’s position, as reported by FAMANZ, is that competency, training, supervision, site controls and enforcement may have more impact than changing the numerical limit alone.
That is an important point for Alpha Tracker customers in the UK. Asbestos compliance is not just about numbers in a report or documents sitting in a folder. It is about having reliable systems, clear processes, competent people, current registers, well-managed actions and evidence that risks are being controlled in practice.
Alpha Tracker is designed to support exactly that kind of joined-up asbestos management, from surveying and sampling through to lab results, registers, reinspection, recommendations, remedial actions, client reporting and audit trails.
The FAMANZ update is a useful reminder that asbestos remains a live issue internationally. The details vary by country, but the direction of travel is clear: better competency, better evidence, better systems and better protection for people.
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| visit famanz.org for more info |
FAMANZ reports continuing progress on its Competency Framework for Asbestos Professionals, the Safe Work Australia Asbestos Framework Review, the updated WorkSafe New Zealand Good Practice Guidelines, and preparations for the 2027 ASBESTOS Conference in Christchurch (Judy and some of the team from the UK will be there, of course!). There is also continued focus on asbestos in consumer products, including children’s play sand, and on the need for better supply-chain assurance and public protection.
For Alpha Tracker customers, this all reinforces the importance of having robust asbestos systems in place. Whether you are managing surveys, samples, registers, removals, reinspection programmes, client portals or reporting, good software helps turn professional practice into repeatable, auditable processes.
We will continue to follow these developments closely and support our Australian and New Zealand customers as expectations around asbestos management, competency and reporting continue to evolve.
We’re delighted to welcome A55 Asbestos Ltd to the Alpha Tracker community.
Today, we had the pleasure of training the A55 Asbestos team on how to use asbestos software Alpha Tracker in their fantastic asbestos laboratory. It was great to spend time with the team, see their setup, and help them get started with the system.
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| A55 join the Alpha Tracker asbestos software family |
A55 Asbestos provides asbestos management solutions, including asbestos surveys, training and consultancy, with a clear focus on reducing risk and helping clients understand their responsibilities. Their work supports homeowners, duty holders and organisations that need clear, practical asbestos advice and support.
Alpha Tracker will help A55 Asbestos manage their asbestos work more efficiently, from job tracking and reporting through to day-to-day lab and project workflows. We’re looking forward to supporting the team as they begin using the system in live work.
A very warm welcome to everyone at A55 Asbestos. We’re excited to have you on board and look forward to working with you.
Find out more about A55 Asbestos here: https://www.a55asbestos.co.uk/
June was another strong month for the our Support Desk, with the team solving 953 tickets and maintaining a high level of responsiveness across the board.
Overall, 94.44% of tickets were solved in time, our best result so far this year. High-priority tickets also performed very well, with 98.33% solved in time.
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| Good result from Zac and the team |
That means that, despite June being one of the busiest months of 2026 so far, the team continued to deliver a reliable and responsive service for asbestos software Alpha Tracker, Greenfield, ecoScribe and other Start Software system users.
| Month | Tickets solved | In time, all tickets | In time, high priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 953 | 94.44% | 98.33% |
| May 2026 | 803 | 94.27% | 96.07% |
| April 2026 | 869 | 93.21% | 97.92% |
| March 2026 | 996 | 92.67% | 97.93% |
| February 2026 | 926 | 92.33% | 98.81% |
| January 2026 | 904 | 93.58% | 98.86% |
June saw a noticeable increase in ticket volumes compared with May, rising from 803 tickets solved in May to 953 in June. Even with this increase, our in-time performance improved slightly, which is a real credit to the Support Desk team.
Support performance is not only about how quickly we respond. It is also about understanding why issues happen in the first place.
During July, we are focusing heavily on root cause analysis. This means looking more closely at repeat problems, recurring support themes, and areas of the software where customers are seeing the same kinds of issues more than once.
The aim is simple: to reduce avoidable tickets and give our customers a smoother, more reliable software experience.
Where we identify repeat issues, we will be working with the wider development team to improve processes, update guidance, enhance training material, and, where needed, make changes to the software itself.
We have also recently completed and deployed Release 42 of Alpha Tracker.
This release includes a wide range of improvements and should help reduce ticket volumes over time, particularly in areas linked to performance. We know that software speed and responsiveness have a direct impact on day-to-day user experience, so this has been an important focus for the team.
As more customers move onto Release 42, we expect to see fewer performance-related support requests and a better overall experience for users.
As always, thank you to our customers for continuing to work with us, report issues clearly, and provide feedback. Your input helps us improve Alpha Tracker and our other systems month by month.
And thank you to the Support Desk team for another excellent month, especially during a busy period.
We are pleased with June’s results, but we are not standing still. July is about digging deeper, fixing repeat problems, and continuing to improve the experience for everyone.
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| AI had fun creating this image for me! |
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| Some photos from the event |
If you’ve been in the asbestos game for more than five minutes, you know the routine. You’re out on a site, maybe it's a derelict factory, a busy hospital wing, or a site where someone’s "accidentally" tipped a load of suspicious-looking debris. You spot something. You take a sample. You bag it, tag it, and then... you wait.
You wait for the courier. You wait for the lab. You wait for the results to be typed up. By the time you actually know what you’re dealing with, the project might have stalled, the client is breathing down your neck, and you’ve spent half your life refreshing your inbox.
Well, we’ve been working on something behind the scenes that’s going to change that. Actually, it’s going to do more than change it, it’s going to flip the script entirely.
We are absolutely chuffed to announce a brand-new integration between Alpha Tracker and the ASBpro handheld asbestos analyser from the clever folks at PAS Scientific.
Imagine being able to identify asbestos in seconds, right there on the spot, and having that data flow straight into your Alpha Tracker system before you’ve even left the site. No, it’s not science fiction. It’s here, it’s brilliant, and it’s going to make your life a whole lot easier.
Let’s talk about the hardware first, because the ASBpro is a bit of a marvel.
It’s a handheld device that uses something called NIR (Near Infra-Red) spectroscopy. Now, don’t let the long words put you off, in simple terms, it shines a specific type of light at a material and looks at how that light bounces back. Because every material (including the different types of asbestos) has a unique "fingerprint" in the infrared spectrum, the device can tell you exactly what you’re looking at.
The best bit? It’s tiny. It weighs about 150g, literally the weight of a smartphone, and fits in the palm of your hand. It’s not some clunky piece of kit that requires a trolley and a degree in nuclear physics to operate. You point it, you scan it, and in about ten seconds, you’ve got an answer.
It detects all the usual suspects: Chrysotile, Amosite, Crocidolite, and the rest. It even takes photos and tags them to the result. It’s essentially a lab in your pocket, minus the white coat and the smell of chemicals.
Now, a fancy gadget is great, but if the data just sits on the device, it’s only half the battle. This is where we come in.
We’ve built a direct integration between the ASBpro and Alpha Tracker. When you take a reading with the ASBpro, that data, including the identification result, the spectral data, and the photos, doesn’t just stay on the handheld. It flows directly into your Alpha Tracker system.
If you’re using Tracker Mobile for your surveys, this is a game-changer. You’re already capturing your site data, floor plans, and notes on your tablet. Now, your asbestos screening results can be part of that same digital workflow.
Funnily enough, we often talk about "joining the dots" in environmental compliance, and this is exactly what we’ve done here. We’ve connected the physical world (the material on site) to the digital world (your compliance records) in real-time.
I know what you’re thinking: "Robin, this sounds lovely, but is it actually going to save me money?"
The answer is a resounding yes. Let’s look at a few scenarios where this integration shines:
Imagine a waste transfer station where a skip-load of "mixed construction waste" arrives. It looks suspicious. In the old days, you’d have to quarantine the whole lot and wait days for a lab result. With the ASBpro and Alpha Tracker, you can screen that load in seconds. If it’s hot, you know immediately. If it’s clear, you can get it processed. That’s a massive saving in time and storage costs.
We’ve seen it happen, fires, floods, or structural collapses where you need to know now if the dust and debris contain asbestos. Emergency services and clean-up crews can’t wait three days for a courier. This tech allows for instant decision-making on the ground, keeping people safe when it matters most.
Before the hammers start swinging, a quick scan with the ASBpro can provide an extra layer of safety. It doesn’t replace the full asbestos survey, but it’s a brilliant "sanity check" for contractors to ensure they aren't about to disturb something nasty.
By screening on-site, you can be much more strategic about what you send to the lab. You can prioritise the "maybes" and get the "definites" logged into Alpha Tracker instantly. It streamlines the whole lab sample exchange process.
Now, I need to be clear here, and I’ll keep us honest, this isn’t about replacing UKAS-accredited laboratories.
In the UK and many other regions, the gold standard for legal identification remains polarized light microscopy (PLM) in a controlled lab environment. The ASBpro is an incredibly powerful screening tool. It’s there to give you instant insight, to help you manage risk, and to speed up your workflows.
Think of it like a GP using a quick diagnostic test before sending you for a full hospital scan. It gives you the "what’s what" immediately so you can take action, while the formal paperwork follows through the usual channels.
When you combine the speed of the ASBpro with the robustness of Alpha Tracker’s reporting and compliance modules, you’re getting the best of both worlds: lightning-fast field data and rock-solid, auditable records.
We’re already rolling this out and the feedback has been, well, brilliant. If you’re an existing Alpha Tracker user and you’re interested in adding the ASBpro to your toolkit, give us a shout.
Our support team and sales guys can walk you through how the integration works, how to get the devices set up, and how to make sure the data is landing exactly where you need it in your system.
And if you’re new to Alpha Tracker: firstly, where have you been?: now is a great time to see how our scheduling and mobile apps can transform your consultancy.
We’ve always said that Alpha Tracker is "powered by the cloud," but it’s also powered by the needs of our users. You told us you needed faster results and better field tech, so we went out and found the best hardware partners to make it happen.
The ASBpro integration is just another step in our roadmap to keep Alpha Tracker at the very cutting edge of the industry.
So, if you fancy seeing a demo of the "magic wand" in action, or if you want to know how to connect your current kit, get in touch. We’re always up for a chat (and usually a biscuit, if you’re offering).
Keep safe out there, and let’s keep making the asbestos industry a little bit faster, a little bit safer, and a whole lot smarter.
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| Andrew alongside his tow boat |
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| Scan and register to follow Andrew's progress - https://big-c-atlantic-challenge.app |
We have updated our monthly support performance figures for May 2026 and, once again, the Alpha Tracker support team has delivered a strong month for our clients.
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| May was a good month on the Support Desk |
During May, we solved 804 support requests, with 758 completed within our target response times. That means 94.28% of all support requests were resolved in time.
For higher priority support requests, the results were even stronger. We solved 171 high-priority requests within target, giving us an in-time performance of 96.07% for those more urgent cases.
Looking across the last six months, from December 2025 to May 2026, the team has now resolved 5,184 support requests.
Of these:
4,816 were completed within target
936 high-priority requests were completed within target
The overall in-time performance has remained consistently above 91% every month
High-priority in-time performance has remained above 96% every month
That consistency matters. Support performance is not just about having one good month. It is about being reliable month after month, especially when clients are relying on Alpha Tracker to help manage asbestos, legionella, fire, water hygiene and other compliance work.
May was another busy month, with more than 800 support requests solved. The overall in-time figure of 94.28% was the best result of the last six months, which is particularly pleasing.
It was also good to see high-priority support remain strong at 96.07%, even with a higher number of urgent requests than in April.
As always, we are grateful to our clients for the clear information they provide when raising support requests. Good detail at the start helps us investigate faster, respond more accurately and keep things moving.
A big thank you to the Start Software support team for another excellent month.
Reliable support is a big part of what makes Alpha Tracker different. Our clients need practical help from people who understand both the software and the industries they work in. These figures show the team continuing to deliver that help quickly, consistently and professionally.
We will publish the next support performance update once the June figures are available.
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| "Add All Sentinels" - new in Alpha Tracker Mobile |
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| Start Software's apps for Clean Up Britain |
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| John Read on Good Morning Britain today |
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| Our Litter Dashcam app - https://roadside-litter.cleanupbritain.app/ |
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| Scan to use the Clean Up Britain apps |
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| Keith Saunders taking a call on the Support Desk |
We are pleased to say that the beta version of Alpha Tracker Release 42 is already looking very encouraging.
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| Dan & Jack studying the Apdex results |
That may sound like a small number, but in day-to-day use it can make a noticeable difference. It means Alpha Tracker is feeling quicker, smoother and more responsive for users, especially when carrying out regular tasks across the system.
There is still more testing to do before the full release, but these early results are a promising sign. We will continue to monitor performance closely during the beta period and fine-tune things where needed.
Thank you to everyone helping us test Release 42. Your feedback is already making a difference.
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| Petty Harbour with Big C V2's crate |
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| Andrew starting the uncrating |
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| Heave! We got it upright thanks to the help of several locals |
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| Scan to register your support |
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| Imagine eating this for 90 days! |
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| Join Kim & Zac to chat Alpha Tracker |
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| Andrew thinking about the challenges that lie ahead |
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| Andrew & Robin with the satellite link on the desk |
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| Alpha TransForm in action |
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| Scan this on your phone to register your support |
