Sealed-Parcel-Delivery (SPD)
What is Sealed-Parcel-Delivery (SPD)?
SPD is an international concept for the secured and supervised transport of petroleum products, which have been loaded into road tankers through metering devices calibrated to official standards.
The basic element of this concept is that once the compartment of the tank truck has been filled with a measured volume, this compartment is electronically sealed and monitored. The seal is then to remain
unbroken until delivery is made to the customer, and the compartment is to be totally emptied. This procedure ensures that the quantity loaded is the same as that delivered to the customer. Proof of the
amount delivered is provided by the loading data (e.g. the bill of lading) in combination with the evidence of the unbroken seal and the status report generated after delivery is completed.
What does it mean to seal the compartment?
To seal means that the openings in the compartment used for loading and discharging the product (e.g. dome cover, footvalves, discharge valves) are elecronically monitored. For this it is necessary that the status of the systems to be monitored be recorded in a central processor, for example by the use of position sensors on the valves. On a report from the main controller (e.g. a printout), it must be plain to the customer whether the compartment is sealed or whether the seal has been broken.
The complete drainage of the compartment is verified with the wetleg (empty compartment) sensors.
The scope and type of monitoring is determined according to the customer’s requirements. In consequence, all events (valve operations, dome cover openings, etc.) on the tank truck can be captured, encoded and processed.
The means of displaying the data is also highly variable. From a simple display by printout to wireless data transmission, everything is possible.
What is MultiSeal?
The system consists of a modular, network-architecture electronic device in which all individual modules communicate with eachother via a communication bus, as well as the wetleg and valve-position sensors and the pressure switches on the footvalves. All electrical components are certified for use in hazardous atmospheres and can be installed in zone 1.
MultiSeal monitors the installed sensor array and registers and stores their current status as individual real-time data. From these individual data, logical processing is used to generate information, e.g. compartment sealed, seal broken, which is shown in the display, stored and made available for further processing (e.g. to a printer).
