diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-push-podstatus.yaml b/.github/workflows/build-push-podstatus.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eb0ade0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-push-podstatus.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+name: Build and Push Pod Status
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+    paths:
+      - Dockerfile.podstatus
+      - poetry.lock
+      - pyproject.toml
+      - podstatus/**/*
+      - .github/workflows/build-push-podstatus.yaml
+
+env:
+  REGISTRY: ghcr.io
+  IMAGE_NAME: ${{ github.repository }}-podstatus
+
+jobs:
+  build:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      packages: write
+      attestations: write
+      id-token: write
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
+        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
+        with:
+          install: true
+          driver-opts: |
+            image=moby/buildkit:latest
+
+      - name: Login to GitHub Container Registry
+        uses: docker/login-action@v3
+        with:
+          registry: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
+          username: ${{ github.actor }}
+          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      - name: Extract metadata (tags, labels) for Docker
+        id: meta
+        uses: docker/metadata-action@v5
+        with:
+          images: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}
+
+      - name: Cache Docker layers
+        uses: actions/cache@v4
+        with:
+          path: /tmp/.buildx-cache
+          key: ${{ runner.os }}-buildx-${{ github.sha }}
+          restore-keys: |
+            ${{ runner.os }}-buildx-
+
+      - name: Build and Push Docker image
+        id: push
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@v5
+        with:
+          context: .
+          file: Dockerfile.podstatus
+          platforms: linux/amd64,linux/arm64
+          push: true
+          tags: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tags }}
+          labels: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.labels }}
+          cache-from: type=local,src=/tmp/.buildx-cache
+          cache-to: type=local,dest=/tmp/.buildx-cache
+
+      - name: Generate artifact attestation
+        uses: actions/attest-build-provenance@v1
+        with:
+          subject-name: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAME}}
+          subject-digest: ${{ steps.push.outputs.digest }}
+          push-to-registry: true
diff --git a/Dockerfile.podstatus b/Dockerfile.podstatus
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7bf5ae4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfile.podstatus
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+### BUILDER
+FROM python:3.12-bookworm as builder
+
+RUN pip install poetry==1.8.3
+
+ENV POETRY_NO_INTERACTION=1 \
+    POETRY_VIRTUALENVS_IN_PROJECT=1 \
+    POETRY_VIRTUALENVS_CREATE=1 \
+    POETRY_CACHE_DIR=/tmp/poetry_cache
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+COPY pyproject.toml poetry.lock ./
+RUN touch README.md
+
+RUN --mount=type=cache,target=$POETRY_CACHE_DIR poetry install --no-root
+
+### RUNTIME
+FROM python:3.12-bookworm as runtime
+
+RUN apt-get update && \
+    apt-get install -y nginx && \
+    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+ENV VIRTUAL_ENV=/app/.venv \
+    PATH="/app/.venv/bin:$PATH" \
+    PYTHONPATH="/conferenceli" \
+    GUNICORN_CMD_ARGS="--workers=1 --bind=unix:/app/gunicorn.sock --access-logfile=-"
+
+COPY --from=builder ${VIRTUAL_ENV} ${VIRTUAL_ENV}
+
+COPY podstatus ./conferenceli
+COPY nginx.conf /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
+
+EXPOSE 8080
+
+CMD ["sh", "-c", "nginx && gunicorn conferenceli.app:app"]
diff --git a/nginx.conf b/nginx.conf
index 384dab5..4f10031 100644
--- a/nginx.conf
+++ b/nginx.conf
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ http {
     keepalive_timeout 5;
 
     # path for static files
-    root /contactform;
+    root /conferenceli;
 
     location / {
       # checks for static file, if not found proxy to app
diff --git a/podstatus/app.py b/podstatus/app.py
index fcec935..2226c65 100644
--- a/podstatus/app.py
+++ b/podstatus/app.py
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import logging
 import os
+import sys
 import random
 import time
 from kubernetes import client, config as k8sconfig, watch
+from kubernetes.config import ConfigException
 from flask import Flask, render_template, Response, jsonify
 from flask_bootstrap import Bootstrap5
 from threading import Thread, Event
 from blinkstick import blinkstick
+from usb.core import NoBackendError
 
 from config import *
 
@@ -20,22 +23,29 @@
 
 # Load kubeconfig or use in-cluster configuration
 kubeconfig_path = config.KUBECONFIG
-if kubeconfig_path:
-    k8sconfig.load_kube_config(config_file=kubeconfig_path)
-else:
-    k8sconfig.load_incluster_config()
+try:
+    if kubeconfig_path:
+        k8sconfig.load_kube_config(config_file=kubeconfig_path)
+    else:
+        k8sconfig.load_incluster_config()
+
+    v1 = client.CoreV1Api()
+    namespace = config.K8S_NAMESPACE
+except ConfigException as e:
+    logging.fatal(e)
+    sys.exit(4)
+
+# Blinkstick setup
+try:
+    bstick = blinkstick.find_first()
+    led_per_pod = 3
+except NoBackendError as e:
+    logging.fatal(f"BlinkStick setup failed: {e}")
 
-# Kubernetes setup
-v1 = client.CoreV1Api()
-namespace = config.K8S_NAMESPACE
 
 # Threading setup
 stop_event = Event()
 
-# Blinkstick setup
-bstick = blinkstick.find_first()
-led_per_pod = 3
-
 
 def set_led_color(pod_index, color):
     start_led = pod_index * led_per_pod