Thanks for joining the Release 42 Webinar for Alpha Tracker. Watch the recording here

Our new webinar technology (Whereby) wasn't quite as slick as we'd have liked, but it was a fun Alpha Tracker webinar, anyway! We had a good turn-out, thank you - there's always lots to show and discuss.

Kim, Jack & Zac on our live webinar

You can see all of the Release 42 highlights on our website https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/latest-release and you can watch the recording of the webinar below.

Dan & I tried to join the webinar from the road to say hello, from our 300 Miles in One Day challenge.  We managed to join (with ropey signal from a Welsh mountain) but apparently no-one could hear us!  Here's a video we recorded just before the webinar, instead:

Thanks again for joining the webinar and keep an eye on the Alpha Tracker roadmap to see upcoming new releases during 2026.

We made it! 300 Miles in One Day for Cancer Research UK

We're so proud of the UK Start Software team!  Between us, we cycled 300 miles in one day for Cancer Research UK, a charity very close to our hearts.

Some of the photos from the day

Dan & Robin cycled to the Welsh coast together, while the rest of the UK team peddled on a static bike, relay-style, on the balcony outside our Telford office.  Lucas brought us over the line with Adam adding a final flourish!

You can replay the day, and add your own donation (thanks in advance!) here: https://300-miles.start-software.ai/

Click to replay the day

New Alpha Tracker Document Maker ready to deploy. Faster, more robust, better all around

CTO Jack and the team have completed the new version of the Alpha Tracker Document Maker (ATDM)—the workhorse behind report production for most asbestos consultancies using Alpha Tracker.  

The new ATDM is part of Alpha Tracker Release 42.1 per the 2026 roadmap: https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/roadmap with more to come in the next few weeks.

Jack & Jamie testing asbestos report production

The changes include:

• faster document production
  
  
• the ability for ATDM to recover from a server crash without needing to start a document from scratch 
  
  
• a new mechanism to produce the survey pages making it much more reliable for large (>1,000 page) survey reports.

Zac & the Support Team will be rolling out the upgrade to systems over the next few weeks.  Early reports from beta testing clients are very positive.

300 Miles in One Day! Follow along during the day and help us to raise funds for Cancer Research

On Tuesday 28 July, we're trying to cycle 300 miles in one day for Cancer Research UK.  It's not going to be easy but we're a determined bunch and this is a cause close to our hearts.

Follow our progress at https://300-miles.start-software.ai

We've built an app so you can track progress.  Follow along here!  https://300-miles.start-software.ai

What's new in Alpha Tracker Release 42? Is it the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything?

42 is famously the answer to the ultimate question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.  Take a look at The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy if you don't know the reference!

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.

Release 42 highlights

• 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

Update on the new software framework

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.

More Info & Webinar

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

300 miles. One day. One team. Please help us support Cancer Research UK

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.

Telford to the Welsh coast

Dan and Robin will set off from our Telford office and cycle approximately 75 miles each to Aberdyfi on the Welsh coast.

Looks like Robin needs to practice wearing his helmet

Back at Base

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.

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

Why we are doing it

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.

Watch us live during the Release 42 webinar

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.

Please help us reach our target

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

The Alpha Tracker API has been updated

Jack and the team have updated the Alpha Tracker API with new and improved endpoints.  The appointment endpoints have had the most focus to give clients more opportunity to retrieve schedules into other software systems.

The Alpha Tracker API enables other systems to securely connect to Alpha Tracker

View all of the Alpha Tracker integrations here: https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/integrations

Serious faces - serious business! We've completed our next Traction/EOS Away Day

We've been in Birmingham for our leadership team Away Day.  We follow the Traction/EOS process - it's brilliant - and each quarter we set our goals (rocks) and plans and review where we are.

Catherine, Dan, Jack, Robin in planning mode

This was a serious day where we made significant changes to the shape of our business, introducing AI into our support process and planning the next AI-powered version of Alpha Tracker.

We're sharing the plans with our team first, then we'll be communicating with our wonderful clients.

Release 42 Webinar - Tues 28 July @ 11:30 - 12:15. It's time to register!

Join us for our Alpha Tracker Release 42 Webinar on Tuesday 28 July @ 11:30 - 12:15.

Join Kim, Robin & the team

We'll show you what's new, what's changed, and what's coming up next in the Alpha Tracker Roadmap.

Click here to register https://www.linkedin.com/events/7482403111265996800?viewAsMember=true  - or join on the day at whereby.com/alpha-tracker-webinar.

Cloud issue affecting Alpha Tracker has been resolved

We are pleased to confirm that the cloud issue affecting Alpha Tracker users in the UK earlier today has now been resolved.

Cloud issues are now resolved

The incident caused slow access and, for some users, difficulties connecting to or logging into Alpha Tracker during the morning of Friday 10 July 2026.

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.

Cloud issue affecting Alpha Tracker ** Friday 10 July 2026 **

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.

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.

Welcome Bridgend Asbestos Services to the Alpha Tracker family

Welcome Bridgend Asbestos Services to the Alpha Tracker family!

Bridgend Asbestos Services

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

A busy team with plenty to manage

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.

Using Tracker Mobile asbestos site surveying app during the training session

Supporting asbestos teams in the real world

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

Thank you to the BAS team

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!

Help us shape Tracker Agent: what should it do for you?

We are rewriting one of Alpha Tracker’s most popular tools, Tracker Filer, and we would love your input.

Talk to us! You have a chance to shape Tracker Agent

Many Alpha Tracker users already rely on Tracker Filer to help link emails and attachments to the correct Alpha Tracker document folders. By copying emails to a special Tracker Filer email address, the system can read the content of the email and file the email and attachments into the appropriate job or quote folder.

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.

Introducing Tracker Agent

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:

• file documents for you, just like Tracker Filer
• automatically add Purchase Order numbers to quotes when you forward an email containing the PO
• mark quotes as won and create the project or job for you
• close one or more projects or jobs
• add an appointment for a job into a surveyor’s diary, either on a specific date/time or in the first free slot

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.

Built with safeguards in mind

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.

What would you like Tracker Agent to do?

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

What the latest FAMANZ newsletter tells us about asbestos management in the UK

The latest FAMANZ newsletter may be written for asbestos professionals in Australia and New Zealand, but many of the themes will feel very familiar to UK asbestos consultancies, laboratories, contractors and duty holders using asbestos software Alpha Tracker.

Visit famanz.org for more info

Across the newsletter, there is a clear focus on competency, practical guidance, consistent survey standards, public-sector asbestos assurance, training, laboratory reporting and the challenge of moving from simply holding asbestos information to proving that asbestos is being properly managed.

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.

Read the FAMANZ June 2026 newsletter

FAMANZ June update: competency, consistency and better asbestos management across Australia and New Zealand

The latest FAMANZ newsletter is well worth a read for asbestos professionals across Australia and New Zealand. It highlights just how active the sector is right now, with important work continuing around competency, training, asbestos survey standards, public-sector assurance, laboratory reporting, and the practical implementation of new and updated guidance.

visit famanz.org for more info

From an asbestos software Alpha Tracker perspective, the themes are very familiar. Asbestos management is becoming more demanding, not less. Clients, regulators and building owners increasingly expect clearer evidence, better records, stronger governance and more consistent processes.

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.

Read the FAMANZ June 2026 newsletter

Welcome to Alpha Tracker, A55 Asbestos

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.

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/

Support Desk Performance: June 2026

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.

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.

June at a glance

Support Desk Performance: January to June 2026

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.

Looking beyond the numbers

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.

Release 42 is now live

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.

Thank you

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.