Appendix last reviewed September 2016

Under the terms of the DCA each Participating Authority has an obligation to interact with GeoPlace on an agreed regular basis.  Users of AddressBase can communicate Address Change Intelligence (ACI) to the Authority Address Custodian via GeoPlace.  For details of how ACI is submitted, see Section 10.  The sections below detail the processes of communication between GeoPlace and Authority Address Custodians. 

1. GeoPlace contact details are:
   • Helpdesk email: [email protected]
   • Helpdesk telephone: 0207 630 4602
   • COU file email: [email protected]
   • GeoPlace website: www.geoplace.co.uk
2. All SNN Authorities should create two contact e-mail addresses for communication between GeoPlace and the SNN Authority.  They should follow the format below.
   • XXXXSN&N@domain name of SNN Authority
   • XXXXLLPG@ domain name of SNN Authority where:
   • XXXX represents the Local Custodian Code,
   • domain name of SNN Authority is relevant to the SNN Authority e-mail address.

1. Full Supply and COU files must be submitted electronically in the current Data Transfer Format via the following methods:
   • FTP
   • email
2. For the specification of the current Data Transfer Format see the support section on the GeoPlace website www.geoplace.co.uk or contact the help desk.
3. All COU and Full Supply files must be named as follows:
   • nnnn_ccyymmdd_vv where:
     • nnnn represents the Local Custodian Code
     • ccyymmdd is the date the file was generated
     • vv is the volume number of the file.
   • ccyy – year, mm – month, dd – date.
   • If more than one file is generated on the same date, the volume number must increase incrementally.

1. Process for submission of COU files:
   • Either upload COU file to the folder “IN” on the Authority Address Custodian’s authority area on the FTP site, or email the file to [email protected] as defined in Section 1.3.
   • Authority Address Custodian will receive an email informing them the file has been received and is awaiting processing.
   • Authority Address Custodian will receive further email indicating if the file has been automatically processed or requires manual processing.
   • If the file requires manual processing no further COU files will be processed until the file has been processed.  This will create a backlog of COU files held on GeoPlace files.
   • When manual processing is complete the Authority Address Custodian will receive an email notification.
   • If there are any issues with the manual processing of the file, error and warning files will be returned to the Authority Address Custodian via email.  The Records that were rejected from the file should then be corrected and returned in a subsequent COU file supplied.
   • If a file is rejected by GeoPlace, the file must be amended and then resubmitted using a different file name from the original file.
2. Authority Address Custodians must not send their COU files to both the FTP site and also via email.
3. Authority Address Custodians should contact the helpdesk on 0207 630 4602 or via email [email protected] to obtain the appropriate registration details for access to the secure LLPG FTP site.
4. GeoPlace undertakes validation checks all COUs and Full Supply received and reports to the SNN Authority inconsistencies in any Record which does not conform to the rules in this document or the current DTF.  For a full description see the support section on the GeoPlace website www.geoplace.co.uk

1. Candidates can be sent by GeoPlace via two methods:
   • Candidate DTF file
     • Contains the suggested insert or update record, along with a cross reference insert including the candidate key.
   • Spreadsheet
     • Contains all fields for the relevant BLPU or LPI with the suggested changed highlighted.
       Candidate records are sent in a spreadsheet by default, but a DTF can be requested if your software is able to accept it.
2. Upon receipt of one or more Candidate requests, a SNN Authority must process them as follows:
   • Investigate the validity of each request.
   • Generate the appropriate response by marking the Candidate Record as accepted or rejected in the spreadsheet, or changing the logical status.
   • If the Record is rejected, no further action is required within the SNN Authority LLPG.
   • If the change is accepted:
     • Make the change within the SNN Authority LLPG.
     • Update via the existing COU process.
   • For the Candidate to be marked as complete, either return the spreadsheet to [email protected] or add a Cross Reference of the Candidate Key with a Source Code of ‘7666IA’. If LLPG is unable to create this source code then select source of 'other' and then add the suffix IA.

For further information on processing Candidate records please refer to the FAQs section of the GeoPlace website (www.geoplace.co.uk/helpdesk/faqs).

1. If a SNN Authority experiences technical problems which prevent successful processing of COU files it is possible that the LLPG is no longer synchronised with GeoHub.  When this happens it may be necessary to carry out a Full Supply transfer file resynchronisation with GeoHub.
    
2. Process for resynchronisation:
   • Before starting the resynchronisation process the SNN Authority must complete a DCA Service Order form and return it to Helpdesk.  To download the latest version of this form please see the Support section of the GeoPlace website.
   • Either upload the Full Supply transfer file to the folder “IN” on the Authority Address Custodian’s authority area on the FTP site, or email the file to [email protected] as defined in Section 1.3.
   • Initially the data is validated by GeoPlace to ensure compliance with the currently published version of the DTF and DEC-Addresses.  If this process identifies any Records that do not comply with the DTF and those in the current version of the DEC-Addresses, the Authority Address Custodian must correct any errors flagged in the report and transfer another Full Supply transfer file to GeoPlace.
   • The file passes initial validation when GeoPlace receive a Full Supply transfer file in which no errors are identified.  The Authority Address Custodian will be advised not to submit any COU files until the resynchronisation is complete.
   • GeoPlace compare the Full Supply transfer file with the data in GeoHub. Further errors may be identified at this stage and sent to the Authority Address Custodian to resolve.
   • GeoPlace will synchronise the Full Supply transfer file with GeoHub and the Authority Address Custodian will receive notification when this is complete.
3. Under the DCA each SNN Authority is entitled to one free complete resynchronisation with GeoHub for each April to March period in each year.  After using this one resynchronisation a SNN Authority may do another resynchronisation within the same period, however this will be subject to an additional service charge as set out in the DCA.    
   The Authority Address Custodian may transfer multiple Full Supply files to GeoPlace for validation.  The resynchronisation is deemed to be complete once the Full Supply transfer file has passed the validation process and has been resynchronised with GeoHub.
4. The Full Supply transfer files should follow the same naming convention as COU files but be identified as a Full Supply by the correct FILE_TYPE entry in the Header Record.  Full Supply transfer files should be sent via FTP if possible or by email to [email protected].  All Full Supply transfer files should be zipped due to their file size.

1. Each month GeoPlace sends a Health Check to each SNN Authority concerning the quality of data held within GeoHub.  These are provided during the last week of each month via FTP and consist of both a full Health Check report and a summary report.  Each Authority Address Custodian receives an email notifying them when these reports are put on the FTP site for downloading.  If a SNN Authority does not have access to the FTP site they can request a copy of the reports by contacting GeoPlace via [email protected].
2. Health Check files use the following naming convention:
   • LAID-YYYYMMDD-Summary.txt
   • LAID-YYYYMMDD-Report.txt where:
     • LAID is the Local Custodian Code ID (usually a 4-digit code) e.g. 1234.
     • YYYY(year), MM (Month), and DD(Day) constitute the date of creation.
     • The text “Summary” or “Report” identifies the type of file that together make up the Health Check.
3. The full Health Check reports and the summary reports begin with a section of Record statistics – a list of Record counts, followed by a list of Classification counts, with an overall count of Classification percentage, RPC and BLPU State counts.
4. The Summary report only contains a count of the number of Records for which each error or warning has been flagged.
5. The full Health Check report contains all checks which have been flagged for that SNN Authority.  It also contains each individual Record flagged by that check as well as a count.  
6. Both reports are broken down into separate sections depending on the Record type, within each section the checks are then broken down into errors and warnings, the errors being the checks with the higher priority which must be remedied by the Authority Address Custodian.

1. Some of the warnings in the Health Check flag Records which cannot be entered in any other way.  It is possible for the Authority Address Custodian to notify GeoPlace of the exemption of these Record(s) so that they are not reported back each month.  
2. For further details of this process see the support section on the GeoPlace website www.geoplace.co.uk.