Imagine you go on holiday. You buy drinks at the bar, eat in the hotel restaurant, and even book excursions through the hotel. These all get added to your bill for you to pay at the end of your visit.
The waiter adds a note to your account every time you order something. Say you have some drinks in the bar at 6 pm, another round at 7 pm and so on: the waiter makes a note for each round. He puts your starter, your main meal and your dessert all on separate notes too. Each note is a piece of 'evidence' for something you ordered. These notes are grouped together into breakfast, lunch and dinner: the different events throughout the day. And to make sure that you're only charged for the correct meals & drinks, every family has their own account to keep their 'batch' of orders separate from everyone else's.
We use a similar approach for e2V.
To minimise the risk of error or fraud, the eco2Veritas platform requires that our key data (also known as ‘claims’), such as the weight of waste material that has been recycled, is supported by evidence. Over time, the platform will automatically connect the evidence together, but new types of evidence will initially be connected together by hand, whilst we learn the rules that need to apply.
FAQ: If you're trying to minimise error or fraud, why do Operators connect evidence together manually?
Answer: We could connect evidence automatically from the start. But we've learned that new processes often need unforeseen tweaks when they move from the drawing board to live production. We've also observed that too much automation can sometimes hide a problem until it's become a big issue. We recommend starting any new process with an element of manual work. Think of it like playing the first few rounds of a new card game with an open hand, so that you can understand the rules more quickly.
Our operators cannot amend the data or the evidence that supports it: they can only connect it together. So, even if we make the odd mistake as we learn the connections, we can ensure that no material has magically appeared or disappeared anywhere.
Next steps: read our Operator User Guide to learn how we: