Findings on a VGP report: how do you clear them?

Finding, reservation: what are we talking about?

In a VGP report, the inspector notes the defects found: worn chain, hydraulic leak, a limiter that trips badly… The report says "observations" (findings); people on site often say "réserves" (reservations): it is the same thing. That is the very purpose of the VGP: to detect "in good time any deterioration likely to create hazards" (article R4323-23 of the French Labour Code, Code du travail).

The report records, it repairs nothing. According to INRS (the French national occupational safety institute), the inspection "is only a finding that must be followed by the repair of the equipment". Clearing the finding means doing that repair and being able to prove it.

This has nothing to do with the handover of construction works (réception de travaux), where the client accepts the work "with or without reservations" (article 1792-6 of the Civil Code) and the contractor then puts the defects right. A VGP finding is a defect on your equipment, which you, as the employer, must have corrected.

What the texts require of the employer

And the deadline? None of the texts we read (Labour Code, orders of 2004 and 1993, INRS) sets a figure for clearing a finding. The logic is one of risk: a defect that makes the machine dangerous rules out using it until it is repaired; a defect with no immediate effect on safety is scheduled, but corrected. A good benchmark: the next VGP should not find the same defect again.

• Remedy the defects: work equipment is "maintained so as to preserve the health and safety of workers" (article L4321-1). The employer "must act on all the findings" in the reports, provisional or final (INRS, ED 6339).
• Stop the machine if needed: "depending on the nature of the finding, the equipment may be kept in service or taken out of service" (INRS). The decision lies with the employer.
• Do not wait for the final report: for lifting equipment, a provisional report is handed over at the end of the visit and the final one within four weeks (order of 1 March 2004, article 3).
• Earth-moving machinery (order of 5 March 1993): the Labour Ministry technical note of 2 August 1995, reproduced by INRS, states that "the defects found must be remedied".
• Record: the VGP result goes into the safety register (registre de sécurité, article R4323-25), "without delay" for lifting equipment.

Sorting findings: a simple method

There is no official grid. If the report states a severity or a course of action, follow it. Otherwise, this practical sort helps you decide, with the opinion of a competent person:

Turning each finding into a job

Hired or newly bought machine? INRS advises contacting the rental company or seller before making any modification.

1. Copy each finding exactly as written, with the date of the report.
2. Sort it and decide: machine in service or stopped. Tell the operators and the site.
3. Create one job per finding: who does it, with which part, by when.
4. Repair it following the manufacturer's instructions.
5. Write the work report: work done, part and reference, test, name and signature.
6. Record the operation in the lifting appliance's maintenance logbook.
7. Check whether a new inspection is needed, then put the machine back into service.

Proof that the finding is cleared, and what the register keeps

No text provides a "clearance" form. What matters is being able to show that the defect was corrected, when and by whom. For a lifting appliance, the maintenance logbook (carnet de maintenance) records the date, the people involved, the nature of the operation and the references of replaced parts (order of 2 March 2004, article 3). The proof file brings together:

• the reference of the finding and of the VGP report;
• the dated, signed work report (a job sheet is enough);
• the invoice or delivery note for the part;
• a before-and-after photo, where useful;
• the return-to-service report, if one was needed.
• In the safety register: the report attached or, failing that, the inspection date, the date the report was handed over and where it is filed (article R4323-26). The text does not require the clearance to be entered there: keep the proof with the report.
• Retention: five years and, in any event, the last two inspections (article D4711-3), on paper or digitally (article R4323-27).

Does the machine need to be inspected again?

Not always. No text requires a new VGP to clear a finding; a recorded correction is generally enough.

For a lifting appliance, however, a return-to-service inspection (vérification de remise en service) is mandatory after "any replacement, repair or major transformation involving the essential components" (order of 1 March 2004, article 20). INRS lists among them brakes, wedging and load-lowering devices, load and overturning-moment limiters, structures, anchorages and ballast. Exception: a rope or chain replaced like-for-like and entered in the logbook with the location of its certificate (article 21).

According to INRS, its report "can therefore replace a periodic general inspection for the same configuration of use". If in doubt, ask the qualified person who inspects your appliances.

What Trackary does, and what it doesn't do

In Trackary, each finding can be entered as a defect on the machine's record, with severity and photo, then scheduled as a job assigned to a technician. The technician closes it from the app on their phone: work report, parts, signature. The compliance file produces the register as a PDF, with the inspection reports in a ZIP. Trackary costs €14 excl. VAT per active machine per month (€11 above 50 machines), unlimited users, with a 30-day free trial, no credit card required.

If you import the VGP report, Trackary AI reads it and proposes one defect per finding, with the excerpt of the report it comes from: you approve line by line, or all at once after checking, before anything is saved, and the import can be undone. Trackary does not carry out the VGP, does not clear any finding for you and certifies nothing: the decision to stop a machine or put it back into service remains the employer's.