Turning Data Into Insight — Not Just Hindsight

Turning Data Into Insight — Not Just Hindsight

Over the past year, I’ve been looking at how machine learning and AI can be used to get more value out of compliance data.. Not just from one area, but by connecting data from multiple, often silo’d departments managing compliance.

At TCW, we’ve structured millions of documents from across the UK. Every provider, local authority and contractor works slightly differently, but that variation is what makes our dataset so powerful, and so useful when you’re looking for patterns at scale.

One of the more interesting exercises I worked on involved training a model to predict boiler breakdowns. That could’ve been done in a very basic way.. looking at makes and models, how often they break down, and drawing a line from A to B. But in reality, there’s a lot more that contributes to failure rates, and I wanted the model to reflect that. Predicting breakdowns accurately meant factoring in a range of variables, not just the obvious ones. That included:

- Boiler make and model - Boiler age - LGSR frequency - Repair frequency - Time between service, repair - Defect action sentiment - Seasonal and regional variation

Data from other data sources and compliance disciplines:-

Electrical: Installation age, Condition Legionella: Susceptible Occupants EPC: Construction type, Insulation, Glazing, Energy ratings

And more..

Once everything was combined, the model started surfacing trends that could genuinely help identify issues before they happen. That means providers can plan ahead, spend smarter, and reduce downtime - all based on data they already hold but may not currently have convenient access to.

Here’s the point. Anyone can say they’re using AI - but without real, structured, wide-ranging data, it doesn’t mean much. And even with the data, knowing where and how to apply it is what really matters.

At TCW, we don’t just extract information. We understand it. We know where it fits, how it impacts the sector, and how to turn it into something useful.