PAF stands for Postcode Address File and is compiled, updated and supplied by the Royal Mail. Currently PAF has around 28 million delivery points and over 1.7 million postcodes.
Find out how Experian QAS manages and enhances the raw PAF from the information provided below
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Experian QAS perform a number of cleaning and compressing routines on the Postal Address File (PAF).
For example, premise data within an address can often appear in the wrong fields, causing the address output to be incorrect. Experian QAS clean and standardise this so it appears in the correct field.
|
Input Bulding Name |
Output Building Number |
Building Name | Sub-building name |
| 12 - 14 | 12-14 | ||
| 1 RAILWAY COTTAGE | RAILWAY COTTAGE | 1 | |
| INGRAM HOUSE, 11-13 | 11-13 | INGRAM HOUSE | |
| UNIT 1,151-155 | 151-155 | UNIT 1 | |
| 25A | 25A | ||
| 1-2/5 | 5 | 1-2 |
It is also necessary to standardise sub-premise information, that can appear in many different ways, in order to achieve consistency within the database. This ensures all flat and house numbers are shown in the same format, for example.
| Input sub-building name | Output sub-building name |
| FLAT1 | FLAT 1 |
| FLATS 2 | FLAT 2 |
| FLAT NO 3 | FLAT 3 |
| HOUSE NUMBER 4 | 4 |
| 1 & 2 | 1-2 |
| GF1 | G/1 |
| GROUND FLOOR FLAT | GFF |
Scottish tenement information is particularly difficult to standardise as it can seem to present multiple delivery points. Experian QAS recognises the different tenement addreses and standardises them into a single, uniform format. They also recognise the difference between Glasgow and Edinburgh tenement data. Raw PAF is written in block capitals. Experian QAS reformats the data so that it is in the correct case. Experian QAS also offers Welsh PAF, the most accurate address data base, using the Welsh language to describe streets and localities in Wales.
As well as cleaning the PAF, Experian QAS also compress it to make it into a more manageable size so it can be quickly searched and accessed by QAS products. The size of the file is reduced from 2.5Gb to 400Mb - roughly an 85% reduction in size, this includes an index to support non-postcode searches. This reduction in size makes it easier to store the data and provides particular benefits when accessing the data across networks, via a variety of SaaS platforms and On Demand.
Improving the Royal Mail data by building extra files into PAF.
In addition to cleaning, reformatting and compressing the PAF, Experian QAS also enhance the data supplied from the Royal Mail by adding:
Build on the Experian QAS GBR file with additional data from Experian QAS.
In addition to cleaning, compressing and indexing the PAF, QAS products also provide benefits that generally cannot be achieved from a "raw" PAF solution.
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