Digitally check pre-product restrictions — before transport starts
Pre-product restrictions are among the most safety-critical requirements in tank logistics — and at the same time among the most difficult to use digitally. When transporting liquid, it is often the combination of two pieces of information that determines whether a tank can be used:
- Which products were transported before
- Which cleaning was carried out afterwards
Industrial companies therefore define detailed rules for many products:
Which precursors are permitted, which must be excluded and when a specific cleaning is required. These rules are decisive for product quality and safety — at the same time, they are difficult to apply operationally if they are not available digitally. The Loady ePLR Check makes pre-product restrictions and cleaning requirements verifiable in a structured way.
In this way, it is possible to check whether a tank is suitable for the next transport even before dispatching, cleaning or arriving at the site.
Pre-product restrictions are complex — and can rarely be used digitally
Particularly when it comes to liquid chemicals, food or animal feed, there are often strict rules for previously transported products. In practice, this means:
For each product, a manufacturer defines which previously loaded substances are accepted in the tank — and which cleaning is required.
These rules can be very complex.
A tank can be rejected, for example, if: the last transported product is not approved for the new load according to certain preliminary products, a mandatory cleaning is missinga previously loaded product belongs to a specific category
They are therefore often difficult for freight forwarders or cleaning stations to check. The episode:
manual clarifications
Uncertainty and scheduling expenses
Rejections at the location
unnecessary additional trips or cleaning
How the ePLR check works
The Loady ePLR Check makes pre-product restrictions digitally usable and verifiable. When a transport is planned, shippers or carriers can enter the previously transported products of a tank.
The result is returned immediately. The check is based on a structured database of: products, approved product categories, intermediate products and cleaning requirements.
Loady then automatically checks: whether these products are permitted as precursors, whether cleaning is required and which cleaning is accepted.
Intelligent product classification
The ePLR Check not only works with individual product names. Products are also categorized so that rules can also be defined at category level. This makes it possible, for example:
- Approvals for entire product groups
- Restrictions for certain classes of substances
- differentiated cleaning requirements
This structure significantly reduces maintenance costs and enables consistent application of the rules.
Workflow for unknown products
Not every possible pre-product is included in the database right from the start. If an entered product is not yet known in the system:
- Loady automatically recognizes this case
- a workflow is started
- the person responsible for product quality is informed
This decides whether the product:
- is approved as a permitted intermediate product
- is only allowed under certain cleaning conditions
- or is excluded in principle
After the decision has been made, the product is permanently added to the database.
Integration with electronic cleaning certificates
The ePLR Check can be integrated directly into electronic cleaning certificates (eECD). For example, in solutions such as: ECLIC, Bulkvision
This allows certification stations to check as soon as a certificate is issued:
- Which precursors were previously transported in the tank
- What cleaning is required
-whether the issued certificate meets the requirements of the shipper product
This test is particularly effective when integrated with the actual previous product loads (PPL) of a tank. The previously transported products can then be automatically included in the check without having to manually enter them. This increases the reliability of testing and reduces sources of error in the process.
Paper-based cleaning certificates can also integrate the ePLR check — for example by means of a check note or a corresponding stamp on the document.
Data quality as a decisive factor
The quality of the check depends largely on how reliably the previously transported products are recorded.The more this information comes directly from the freight forwarding company's operational systems — for example from:- Transportation management systems- Telematics solutions- electronic cleaning certificatesThe higher is the reliability of the test.The ePLR Check therefore has its greatest effect when it becomes part of a continuous digital process chain.
Research-based development of the ePLR check
The development of the Loady ePLR Check is recognized as a research and development project as part of tax research funding. The focus is on the structured formalization and digitization of complex previous load restrictions into a reproducible, rule-based decision-making model — as a basis for automatable testing processes in chemical logistics.
Why this is important right now
Liquid transport is under increasing pressure:
- stricter quality requirements increasing
- Documentation requirements
- increasing digitization of processes
At the same time, expectations for safety, traceability and efficiency are increasing. Digital pre-checks such as the ePLR Check help
- to reduce risks
- to speed up operational decisions
- to avoid unnecessary transportation or cleaning
and create a reliable basis for automated logistics processes.
Stefanie Kraus
Co-Founder & CEO
If necessary, we can help you calculate the benefit case, which shows the benefits and savings potential of Loady for your company — with a comprehensible method, real figures and a clear ROI assessment for a well-founded decision.
