Methodology pages

Methodology

From documents to evidence

PFD Monitor turns official reports and responses into information that can be searched, compared, and linked. AI carries out much of this work, while source links and automated checks keep the results tied to the published documents.

1. We preserve the documents

PFD Monitor first saves the official report page and its relevant documents. It records where each item came from, when it was collected, and whether it later changed.

This creates a stable starting point for the analysis. If an official document is replaced, PFD Monitor can keep the earlier version and record the update rather than silently changing the source behind a published finding.

2. AI reads reports and responses

The AI identifies information readers may want to explore, including:

  • each individual concern raised by the coroner;
  • the organisations that received the report;
  • official responses and the organisations that wrote them;
  • actions a respondent says it plans to take or has taken; and
  • certain statements explaining why a respondent does not propose an action.

The original wording and its location in the document are kept. PFD Monitor may also create a shorter description to help people search and compare the records.

Quality check
A shorter description must remain faithful to the source. It cannot replace the quotation or add a cause, responsibility, promise, or conclusion that the document does not support.

3. We organise and connect the records

PFD Monitor resolves different written forms of an organisation's name to one public organisation record, while preserving the name used in the source.

AI also compares concerns across reports. When concerns describe the same underlying safety problem, they may be linked to the same recurring issue. If a match is unclear or unsupported, the concern remains unlinked.

Responses and actions stay attached to the organisation that made the statement. An action is linked to a particular concern only when the response supports that connection.

Interpret with care
A report can be sent to several organisations without saying which one was responsible for each concern. PFD Monitor does not assign responsibility simply because an organisation received the report.

4. We check the results

Automated checks make sure that required information is present, source links are valid, and records fit together correctly. Some cases may be sent for human review, such as an unclear source, a possible new recurring issue, or a correction.

A person does not routinely approve every AI decision. PFD Monitor instead makes the original evidence visible, records uncertainty, and allows findings to be corrected.

5. We publish a fixed release

Records are published together as a versioned release rather than changing one by one without explanation. Each release identifies the source collection and method versions used to produce it.

This allows readers to understand which version of the evidence they are using and makes later corrections or changes traceable.

Technical note
PFD Monitor keeps source documents, extracted text, AI outputs, public records, and publication decisions as separate stages. This helps prevent a later description or classification from overwriting the original evidence. Exact prompts, models, thresholds, and software design remain proprietary.

Corrections and feedback

If a published record appears to misrepresent its source, readers can send us the page address, source passage, and an explanation of the problem.