Guide · fleet management
QR codes for road-rail vehicles: a guide
A QR code stuck on a road-rail vehicle does not contain the file: it encodes a stable identifier or address that opens the machine's record in the software, with the documents, checklist or action intended, depending on the user's access rights. You also need to plan for a damaged label, no network, or a hijacked code.
Roll out QR codes across a road-rail vehicle fleet: identification, access rights, offline use, documents, cybersecurity and the limits of evidence.
Principle
A QR code points to a resource; it does not guarantee its content
Technically, a QR code encodes information that a camera can read. For an equipment fleet, the most robust practice is generally to encode a stable identifier or address that opens a controlled record. The business content stays in the system: the machine's identity, job, document, checklist or action, depending on the journey and the user's access rights.
Encoding the conclusion "compliant" does not make it authentic or current. A valid link can open an outdated or incomplete record. The value of a document depends on its issuer, its content, its scope, its date and the applicable rules; the QR code only makes it easier to access.
Identifier
The code helps find the right item without re-entering a long or ambiguous number.
Access
The application then decides what the user can see or do based on their authentication and role.
Document
The file keeps its title, issuer, version, scope and history independently of the label.
No automatic value
Scanning a QR code does not on its own prove that the machine is fit for use, that the person is authorised, or that an inspection has been carried out. The value, if any, of the accessible data depends in particular on its author, its integrity, its retention and the applicable evidentiary regime. Any decision must follow the process established by the organisation.
Design
Choose a stable identifier and a link you can administer
A label often lasts longer than a domain name, a mobile app or a URL structure. Encoding the path to a PDF directly makes the code fragile: the document will be replaced, the folder moved or the vendor changed. A stable identifier lets the service redirect to the current resource while keeping the history.
The code should expose no personal data, no secret, no sensitive status and no permanent token. A token can be copied by photograph. The CNIL (the French data protection authority) points out that a continuous-access link can become an entry point: duration, revocation, logging and authentication must be matched to the risk.
| Encoded element | Benefit | Risk to manage |
|---|---|---|
| Opaque public identifier | Stable, low-information label | Secure resolution and no guessable data |
| Record URL | Direct opening in a browser | Durable domain, controlled redirects and checked access rights |
| Access token | Simplified journey in certain controlled cases | Copying by photo, duration, revocation, logging and data exposure |
| Printed business content | Readable without a network | Quick obsolescence and no guarantee on the version |
Journey
Design the scan around a precise field action
A QR code is useful when it removes an identifiable point of friction. A technician can open the record of the machine in front of them; a team can access the prepared job; a manager can view the source document linked to a status. Stacking all these actions onto one generic page forces the user to search again and increases the risk of acting on the wrong item.
The journey should visually confirm the identity obtained: fleet name, model and a physical marker help detect a label that has been moved. A sensitive action should always require authentication, confirmation or validation by the competent role set by the organisation.
- Scan: read a clean, visible code without asking the user to enter confidential information.
- Resolve the identifier: find the active record while handling codes that have been withdrawn, replaced or flagged.
- Authenticate: apply the account's access rights and do not treat possession of the code as an authorisation.
- Confirm the item: display markers that let the user match the digital record to the physical machine.
- Carry out the action: open the intended journey, keeping the author, time and context where the procedure requires it.
- Review: let the manager check the outcome and handle discrepancies without altering the source document.
Operation
Plan for a damaged label, no network and a hijacked code
A label exposed on site can become dirty, scratched, torn off or replaced. The identifier must also be printed in plain text to allow a manual search. Placement, contrast, size and material should be tested on real machines with the devices used, without covering a regulatory plate or creating a new risk.
Without a network, the scan does not create a connection. An offline journey requires pre-loaded data whose date and sync status remain visible. An old snapshot is not the current record. Once the network returns, the author, the order of events and any conflicts must be preserved.
Working checklist
- ✓ Identifier printed in plain text next to the QR code.
- ✓ Label linked to a single item and a documented replacement procedure.
- ✓ Recognisable domain and protection against uncontrolled redirects.
- ✓ No personal data or regulatory conclusion exposed in the code.
- ✓ Access rights applied after the scan, including on a shared device.
- ✓ Offline status and data date clearly displayed.
- ✓ Ability to revoke a compromised code or token.
- ✓ Reporting channel for a label that has been moved, unknown or suspicious.
A QR code can also redirect to a malicious site
The ANSSI (the French national cybersecurity agency) uses the term "quishing" for phishing carried out via a QR code. Teams must recognise the expected domain and report an overlaid code or an unusual authentication page.
Frequently asked questions
Sources and limits of this guide
- Légifrance — Article R4323-27 of the French Labour Code (Code du travail) ↗ The text states that the safety register and reports may be kept and retained on any medium under the prescribed conditions; it gives no particular value to a QR code.
- Légifrance — Article 1358 of the French Civil Code (Code civil) ↗ Principle that, except where the law provides otherwise, evidence may be established by any means.
- Légifrance — Article 1366 of the French Civil Code (Code civil) ↗ Conditions under which an electronic document has the same evidentiary force as a paper document, in particular identification of its author and a guarantee of its integrity.
- INRS — Initial and periodic machine inspections ↗ Guidance on inspections and the reports to keep, useful for distinguishing the source document from its means of access.
- CNIL — Individual connection tokens ↗ Analysis of the risks linked to links giving continuous access and recommendations on duration, revocation, logging and authentication.
- ANSSI — CyberDico, definition of quishing ↗ Official definition of QR-code phishing, relevant where labels open an online service.
- This guide is not a legal analysis of electronic evidence, a security accreditation, or a ready-to-deploy technical specification.
- Access rights, personal data, documentary requirements, offline conditions and cyber risks must be analysed for the organisation concerned.
- A QR code and the software it links to carry out no physical inspection and grant no authorisation to use the equipment.