Alpha Tracker at the NORAC Conference in Manchester

Yesterday, Kim and Melika from Alpha Tracker had a busy and successful day at the NORAC Asbestos Conference in Manchester. They spent time at our our conference stand and in the main room, reconnecting with familiar faces and forging strong new connections across the asbestos consultancy and health & safety sectors.

Old friends! (less of the "old", Neil said!)

Melika looks tiny!

We showcased the latest updates in Alpha Tracker asbestos software, sharing how our platform continues helping consultancies streamline survey records, compliance, and incident management.

Old clients dropped by the stand—always great to catch up, hear feedback, and discuss how asbestos software Alpha Tracker is working for them in real-world settings.

New leads and contacts also stopped by, interested in how we manage regulatory compliance, reporting, and how our mobile/web platform supports field work.

Let's have an asbestos debate!

The conference had an excellent agenda. One of the standout sessions was the debate about whether UKAS accreditation should be mandatory (or not) in the asbestos surveying industry.

In addition, these stood out:

• “Respiratory protective devices – how much protection do they offer” by Nick Baxter, the RPE technical lead at HSE 
  
  
• “The benefits of accreditation and preparing effectively for requirements” by Louise Wainwright, UKAS Assessment Manager and Asbestos Technical Focus Person. 

These talks tied in nicely with Alpha Tracker’s focus on standards, compliance and user safety—so there was a lot of synergy and topics for deeper discussion at the stand.

Kim at our Alpha Tracker stand

NORAC’s 2025 Annual Conference is one of the key events in the asbestos sector calendar. With its location at Manchester Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel, it attracted consultants, analysts, contractors, safety professionals, and regulatory experts. The event also included NORAC’s first-ever Asbestos Awards Ceremony, recognising excellence across the community. 

Kim with global asbestos leader Yvonne Waterman

We came away inspired. The insights from speakers like Nick Baxter and Louise Wainwright reinforced how ever-more important robust software solutions are—especially in areas like accreditation, protection, and regulatory standards.

If you missed us at NORAC but want to learn more about what Alpha Tracker can do for your asbestos compliance or surveying work:

• Visit Alpha Tracker’s main site: alpha-tracker.co.uk
• Or go to our Asbestos-specific page: alpha-tracker.co.uk/asbestos

If you’re interested, we can also send you the full NORAC programme link or PDF so you can see all the talks and plan ahead for next year.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the stand, attended the talks, or joined in the conversations. Looking forward to applying what we learned and seeing some of the new ideas brought to life!

Can you support Dan & Robin cycling for Motor Neurone Disease?

Dan & Robin are cycling a charity event on Sunday 21 September at the Goodwood Motor Circuit.  The event - the Goodwood 500 - is in aid of people suffering from Motor Neurone Disease (MND).  500 cyclists are aiming to cycle 100 miles (40 laps!) to raise funds for the Matt Gallagher Foundation.

Matt Gallagher was a professional rugby player diagnosed with MND in 2023. Matt is a friend of Start Software director Andrew - and Andrew encouraged Robin & Dan to ride along with him and other friends and colleagues.

Robin & Dan 

Look - bikes!

If you'd like to support Dan & Robin and can donate something - however small - to support people with Motor Neurone Disease, here is the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/exdcb-goodwood-500-matt-gallagher-foundation-charity-cycle.

Thanks in advance!

We've increased the speed and flexibility of our Data Exports within Alpha Tracker. Another demonstration of our belief that the data in Alpha Tracker is *your* data, not ours

You know how passionately we believe that the data within Alpha Tracker is *your* data and we are the custodians of it.  Unlike many other asbestos software providers who delight in locking you in to their systems and hold you to ransom if you want access to it, we work hard to expose as any ways as possible for you to export your data and link to other software systems.

CTO Jack and the software team have updated our Data Export engine to increase the speed that exports run and to increase their flexibility, especially around the export of PDF files (such as asbestos reports).

Exports are now faster and more flexible

You can find details about all of our data exports and integrations on our websites here https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/integrations (UK) and https://alpha-tracker.com.au/integrations (Australia/New Zealand).

Our best showing in the Coracle World Championships! Lucas, Jamie, Jack & Dan reach the semi-final

Our Start Software Coracle-racing team had their best showing yet on Friday, reaching the semi-final.  Their run was ended by Jamie digging deep with the oar - far too deep, in hindsight! - and sinking our boat.  Despite his best efforts and those of the team members following him, it was "game over" but there were smiles all round.

You can still donate to Macmillan if you'd like to: https://macmillan-org.enthuse.com/pf/start-software-out-of-ctrl-c.  Thanks in advance!

Jamie, Dan, Captain Lucas and Jack

Dan was the poster-boy for the event

Jamie - WET

The Coracles lined up and ready

A great turnout yet again - what a way to fundraiser for Macmillan

Our latest software project has been soft-launched at the Dairy Show. SOLID Diet Management is nearly production-ready

We've been working with the famous Nicholson farming family over the last few months to build a new farming app - SOLID Diet Management (see https://blog.start-software.com/2025/05/were-building-new-farming-app-meeting.html).

Built using the Alpha Software development platform (Alpha Anywhere), our team have built an innovative and robust self-service app.

Dan & Lucas attended the soft-launch at the Dairy Show

The Dairy Show was the ideal venue for the soft-launch of the app (not least because it was in Telford!), so Dan & Lucas went along to meet the farming brains behind the product, Richard Nicholson, and watch him introduce it to fellow farmers.

The Big C (V2!) is back in the water! Andrew's preparations for his next World Record attempt are going well

Adventurer and friend of Start Software Andrew Bedwell has been video-calling us from his new boat, Big C V2!

Andrew with Big C V2 at Whitehaven, UK

Andrew has rebuilt Big C from scratch using a new design, new materials and a new approach to weight distribution.  It is still tiny - but there is (slightly) more room inside for his navigational aids and for food.

His sea trials at the weekend were a great success and the boat only needs a few minor adjustments in time for his journey to start in May 2026.

We're supporting Andrew right up to the point where he sets off - to break the World Record for the shortest boat to cross the Atlantic (Big C is only 1m long...) he has to be completely unsupported.  That means 3 months at sea eating only the food he can take with him (or catch) and drinking water made by hand-cranking a desalination unit.

Watch this space for more photos, videos and news.