The AI-powered Alpha Draw is in beta test! Great demos this week

We've had some really good meetings with Alpha Tracker asbestos consultancy clients this week keen to see the new AI-powered Alpha Draw.

That's not a real photo. Robin's hair is much more grey

Alpha Draw is the companion site plan drawing app for asbestos software Alpha Tracker.  It's due a refresh, and the new version is a ground-up rewrite with a whole raft of new features:

• better integration with Alpha Tracker including dynamic sample markers
• AI-powered "finger drawing to clean plan"
• AI-powered "room photo to site plan".

It's pretty amazing!  We showed it first at our March Office Hours session.

Watch out for more updates and the new version in the app stores.

Sorry! Alpha Draw has a temporary problem on Android 14 (and older). Android 15+ and iOS (Apple) devices are OK

We're sorry, but our site plan drawing app, Alpha Draw, is experiencing a problem on devices running older versions of Android (14, 13 and older).  It is fine on Android 15, Android 16 and iOS (Apple) phones and tablets.

Sorry - Alpha Draw is having issues on older Android versions

We'll fix the issue as soon as we can.  In the meantime, please use a newer device if you can (or allow your phone/tablet to update to a later Android version).

Contact Support (UK or Aus/NZ) for more information.

The latest webinar - all about Alpha Draw - is now available to watch on YouTube

Did you miss Tuesday's Alpha Tracker live webinar?  It's now available on YouTube - well worth watching if you want to speed up your surveys with our free site drawing tool, Alpha Draw.

Jack, Kim & Dan presenting the webinar

Watch below - or direct on YouTube.  By the way, we had the most attendees ever on the live session - thanks for joining!

You can register for our free monthly webinars here - https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aS6dJ0j5QCycZ65VbHgBow#/registration

Alpha Draw webinar on Tuesday 31 October at 12:30 (UK). Join Kim, Jack & Dan as they show you the new Alpha Draw in action

The new Alpha Draw site plan drawing app is on show on Tuesday 31 October in our regular Alpha Tracker webinar.  Kim, Jack & Dan will be showing you how you can use Alpha Draw alongside our asbestos data capture apps to work efficiently on-site when conducting an asbestos survey.

Alpha Draw is a free download from the Google and Apple app stores

Not registered for our free monthly webinars as yet?  Here's the registration link - go for it! https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aS6dJ0j5QCycZ65VbHgBow

Learn about site plan "hotspots" in our Alpha Tracker webinar on Tuesday! It's free to join and only 20 minutes long

Would you like to know more about site plan hotspots in Alpha Tracker and how they can save your survey admin teams lots of time?

Join our free webinar on Tuesday 26 September at 12:30!  https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aS6dJ0j5QCycZ65VbHgBow

The next webinar is on Tuesday at 12:30

Watch all of the previous Alpha Tracker Tips & Tricks webinars here: https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/webinars

PS We'll also be previewing some of the upcoming features in Alpha Tracker Release 40

New "template" feature coming soon to Alpha Draw

Thanks for all of the feedback following the release of our updated Alpha Draw site plan app which accompanies asbestos software Alpha Tracker.

Alpha Draw "template" option is coming next

One of the features requested is a "template" feature whereby a drawing can be saved by a surveyor as a blueprint for use in subsequent surveys.  We're adding that feature in now and expect it to be ready within a fortnight.

Is there anything else you'd like to see?  Get in touch!

Major Alpha Draw update now live - automatically colour-code sample tags, import drawings, new arrow tools, and more

Alpha Draw is Alpha Tracker's companion site plan drawing app.  We've been working hard the last month or two and a major update is now live on the web and on the Google and Apple app stores.

Some of the improvements on show in Alpha Draw

Here are some of the improvements you'll see:

• there are now 48 new arrows to use on drawings
  
  
• you can attach text to an arrow to highlight the issue being identified
  
  
• the surveyor can manually code-code sample tags as they are placed on the plan, and/or...
  
  
• ..admin staff can click one button to automatically colour-code sample tags based on the lab analysis
  
  
• any plan already saved in the Alpha Tracker project folder (for example, one provided by the client) can be used by the surveyor on-site.

You'll find the updated manual here: https://www.start-software.com/app/download/5815863577/Alpha+Draw+User+Guide+v1-1.pdf

Click to download the updated manual

This update is already live for all users of Alpha Draw - enjoy!

Britain’s death toll from asbestos at crisis level, figures reveal

Interesting and troubling article in The Guardian this morning, see

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jul/07/britains-death-toll-from-asbestos-at-crisis-level-figures-reveal

Click the image to read the article in The Guardian

Regular readers of the blog will know that I have been personally touched by the devastating effects of Mesothelioma, see https://robinbennett.blogspot.com/2018/01/mcp-and-start-software-helping.html.

We've been producing software for the asbestos industry (asbestos consultancies, surveyors and building/estate managers) for 20 years now and each year the expectation has been that the "asbestos problem" will reduce in size.  Articles like this confirm that the problem is actually getting worse, in many respects, and the need to manage asbestos in situ is more important than ever.

If we can help your organisation to manage asbestos, do get in touch.  Our Tracker family of asbestos systems (including the web-based Alpha Tracker asbestos software) has helped hundreds of organisations with their asbestos problem and it contains the world's largest database of surveyed asbestos items.

More information about Alpha Draw - our site planning drawing tool for Alpha Tracker

The new Alpha Draw site plan module (that we have been blogging about all year!) was launched as part of Alpha Tracker Release 30 and is getting an increasing amount of use.

Alpha Draw is integrated with asbestos software Alpha Tracker to provide an easy way to produce simple plans or drawings and send them in to the appropriate project in Alpha Tracker.

Please get in contact if you would like to try Alpha Draw - you can download it from the Google Play Store as a free app and the SupportTeam then need to perform a quick setup step and provide you with your password so that you can begin using it.

We have created Alpha Draw to work best on tablet devices so that the asbestos surveyor has enough “work space” to draw plans of different sizes. 

You can quickly draw the shape of a room, add windows, doors and other features, even furniture too!

Finally, add your sample points before automatically uploading the drawing to the Alpha Tracker project.

Example of a site plan under construction

Once you have sent a drawing in, it is amendable from both the app and from the web version of Alpha Draw which you can access from Alpha Tracker. 

A new option, “Open Alpha Draw” on the Choose Task menu on Survey Details, opens the drawing in the web version of Alpha Draw.

The new Alpha Draw menu option within Alpha Tracker

There is a short, separate user guide available for Alpha Draw. Contact Support if you would like a copy or click here to download it yourself.

Alpha Tracker Release 30 - nearly 300 new features, bug fixes and performance updates

Release 30 of our asbestos software Alpha Tracker has finally arrived as a public release.  I was starting to wonder whether Brexit would happen before Release 30 did...

It's our biggest update yet with nearly 300 changes, including:

- complete integration with AlphaDraw, our site drawing tool

- improved CRM facilities

- new features in the diary and scheduler to make it quicker and easier to use

- improvements and new features in the Client Portal, and

- more opportunities for the system to send automatic emails to staff and clients.

Here is a quick video to introduce Release 30 to you:

The 21-page PDF of the release notes is available here https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/release-notes/ ready for you to read, download, print and keep with your Quality Manual.

(you can read about the previous release of asbestos software Alpha Tracker, Release 29, here)

Don't forget to give us your ideas for Release 31 which will be coming up in early summer - contact us via our website.

More asbestos surveyors trained to use asbestos software Alpha Tracker

Kim has been on site again this week with two asbestos consultancies helping to train new asbestos surveyors to use our asbestos software Alpha Tracker.

Another 15 asbestos surveyors are now live with our site asbestos data capture system, Tracker Mobile, enabling them to:

- load up their asbestos survey jobs from home onto their smartphone or tablet

- read project documentation, method statements and check plans before attending site

- complete their risks assessment before starting work

- capture data about asbestos samples and non-suspect items together with photos and notes

- send the asbestos data, photos and plan from site back to the server ready for the samples to be analysed and the asbestos report produced.

Can we help your asbestos consultancy to remove paperwork from your business or swap from another system?  We offer special discounts to users of other systems so get in touch now!

Asbestos software Alpha Tracker Release 30 nearly ready

Our latest asbestos software Alpha Tracker update, Release 30, is nearly ready.

Dan has just published Alpha Tracker Release 30 beta 3, making it available to asbestos consultancies who are part of our beta testing programme.  Release 30 will contain more than 100 new features, bug fixes and performance improvements and will be welcomed by clients using Release 29 or earlier (click here for details of the previous update, made available in the autumn).

One of the key new features which Release 30 will make available is the new Alpha Draw site plan module which we have been blogging about throughout the second half of 2018.

There is still time to squeeze another couple of improvements into the software, so do get in touch if there is a feature you'd like to see!