Electronic EFTCO Cleaning Document (eECD) Solution
The electronic EFTCO Cleaning Document (eECD) is the new digital variant of the paper EFTCO Cleaning Document or paper ECD.
Tank cleaning is a cornerstone in the logistics process for which safety, quality and operational efficiency must be safeguarded. To achieve this goal, EFTCO, ECTA and CEFIC developed in 2005 a uniform EFTCO Cleaning Document or ECD of which in 2022, more than 4.000.000 paper ECD’s are issued annually in 4-fold!
More info about the ECD or EFTCO cleaning document can be found on the EFTCO website.
To improve the efficiency, sustainability and compliancy, the paper ECD copies are now fully digitalized and turned into a collaborative eECD process. This digitalized process works in closed loops whereby all actors have a digital licence and overcomes the typical administrative burdens of a paper driven process.
A more descriptive background of the eECD process can be found in the ECTA best practice guideline about digital documents eCMR and eECD from Jan 2021.
The latest process description and systems user manual is available for companies subscribing to the eECD Use Case. Find under “my login” on this website or within the eECD application.
The benefits at industry level exceed 16M€ per year and can be summarized as follows:
- Less truck rejections -real time notifications
- Increased asset utilization
- Fast Lane efficiency increase at loading gates
- Reduced administration costs
- Reduced IT complexity thanks to an industry process harmonization
- Reduced cross-contamination risks
As of Q2 2023, ECLIC launches the enhanced eECD 2.0 solution. With the new 2.0 process, the problem of coexistence between paper and digital is solved by creating a “hybrid” document. All actors will be able to scan the unique QR code and check the eECD on validity even if they do not have an eECD licence. With eECD 2.0 each actor can digitalize at their own speed and decide to use the paper ECD’s, the digital eECD 2.0 paper copy with QR code or the full enabled digital solution without any paper.
While paper ECD’s are still the norm today, this upgrade towards the new eECD 2.0 “hybrid” solution will allow a faster digital adoption and transition while keeping one uniform industry way of working across all actors in Europe.
A communication flyer was issued in support of the eECD 2.0 project in November 2022 and can be found here.
A communication flyer was issued in support of the eECD 2.0 project in June 2023 and can be found here.
The eECD 2.0 tutorial intro movie explaining the new eECD 2.0 features and zooming in on how to check the eECD validity by scanning the unique EFTCO QR code can be found here.
The digital eECD within the enhanced eECD 2.0 process contains a new eECD compliancy score. This compliancy score is an extra box number 16 printed on each eECD and is eECD specific.
The eECD compliancy score is a dynamic measure that is developed throughout the “end-to-end” cleaning, planning and loading process. It reflects the level of digital collaboration among all actors contributing to this specific eECD. The score rating increases with the addition of more “stars” indicating a higher level of digital compliance and data accuracy because the data are gathered from the right primary source and includes different time stamps for traceability. It is important to note that the eECD compliancy score does not assess the actual performance of the physical cleaning process itself. Instead, it focuses on the digital aspects of collaboration, accuracy of data, and adherence to the eECD process.
The digital eECD 2.0 process is superior and offers numerous advantages over the classic paper ECD. While the paper ECD gives a static picture of the equipment cleaning status just after cleaning, the new EFTCO QR code enabled eECD 2.0 is enhanced with a dynamic workflow. In that workflow, each equipment has its compartment configurations & auxiliaries, a history of specific previous & next loads, equipment can be stored, moved, re-cleaned, rejected and former issued paper ECD’s can expire. In that sense, the digital eECD process adds numerous digital time stamps and allows dynamic monitoring along its “end to end” cleaning cycle.
Another view is that the eECD compliancy score is a change management indicator that visually reflects the level of the engagement of each actor to make the content of each specific eECD more accurate and to contribute to the overall better cleaning and product quality.
To be specific, one star in the eECD compliancy score means the cleaner has issued a
digital eECD and strives to deliver a superior digital experience to its downstream customers. Subsequently, an extra star is added each time the carrier, loader, seller or integrated seller does contribute with their own data to improve the reliability and accuracy along the digital cleaning workflow. A carrier gets an extra star once the equipment configuration and previous load product information are digitally shared which allow the cleaner to apply the proper cleaning procedures. A
loader gets a star when he confirms the exact product loaded in the equipment and the seller (or shipper) gets a star when providing the correct product and safety data. An integrated seller can complete all 5 stars by sharing its transport order data required to ensure a smoother equipment and to avoid detailed order data need to be manually typed over along the chain.
In conclusion, the more stars on an eECD, the higher the collective level of data accuracy and the higher the degree of sustainability and efficiency being reached throughout the end to end cleaning process. While the eECD compliancy score concept is very visual and easy to understand, the market still need to make a digital transition before all eECD’s are issued with 3 to 5 stars. For sure, the new eECD compliancy score opens the minds and leads towards a more transparent way of working digitally together to improve the overall product quality, the asset utilization and reduce cross contaminations. This existing eECD process will be further enhanced with new functionalities over time like automatic checks on forbidden pre-loads. Besides, the process can be extended to other industry sectors like food, feed and pharma however the chemical sector is, at this point, the front runner.
The digital eECD process is built in the cloud using API or application programming interface connections. Please note that same connectivity methodology is used for all ECLIC solutions (ePPL, eECO, eDD, eEQUIP,…) so that only one interface needs to be built which can be re-used for other Use Cases.
The API connectivity allows a company to use the solution´s process through its stand alone eECD web application or, in case of larger volumes, can be interfaced via its API calls through any other cleaning, TMS, YMS or ERP software. This eECD API connectivity is flexible and avoids that logistics data should not be typed over when different actors work in different systems. Depending on the company role (carrier, cleaner, loader) and required functionalities, an API connection can be build between the eECD platform and your local system.
Given that ECLIC is a not for profit association, these API’s are granted to IT solution providers free of charge. An overview of the available eECD API’s can be consulted via github.
In case an IT solution provider or software vendor wants to help one of their licenced customer(s) to connect to the eECD platform, they can send an information request to info@eclic.eu to obtain an account. Obviously, they will need the approval of an licenced customer.
eECD 2.0 general intro movie : What’s new?
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How cleaning stations create an eECD 2.0?
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HOW A LOADER CAN ACCEPT AN eECD 2.0 by SCANNING THE QR CODE?
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