utils/encoders.py

# utils/encoders.py
import joblib

def load_encoder(path):
    """Load a saved sklearn OneHotEncoder."""
    return joblib.load(path)

def load_scaler(path):
    """Load a saved StandardScaler."""
    return joblib.load(path)

def safe_category(value, known_values):
    """Replace unseen categories with 'Other'."""
    return value if value in known_values else "Other"