Guide · fleet management
Road-rail equipment hire checklist
To hire a road-rail vehicle without a bad surprise: describe the actual use rather than just a model, have parts, inspections and responsibilities set out in the contract, compare the machine received against the order and its condition, then log events for a joint return inspection. The annotated checklist below covers these steps.
Annotated checklist to prepare the hire of a road-rail vehicle: need, documents, condition, accessories, departure, use and return.
Before enquiry
Define the actual use rather than just asking for a model
An excavator, a MEWP or a road-rail vehicle exists in several configurations. The rental company cannot secure its proposal from a generic name alone. The requester describes the work, the environment, the field of use, access, putting on track, the expected loads or tools, and the full period, including delivery and collection.
This description does not authorise the equipment. It gives the parties the elements needed to check suitability within their respective areas of responsibility. Site restrictions, the manager's procedures and the expected competencies are confirmed with the competent parties before commitment.
Working checklist
- ✓ Planned work and tasks described with the person responsible for the request.
- ✓ Site, track, access, clearance and conditions for putting on track identified.
- ✓ Machine family, capacities, tools and accessories needed specified.
- ✓ Dates including transport, preparation, site work and collection defined.
- ✓ Special conditions known: gradient, environment, co-activity or hours.
- ✓ People responsible for suitability, receipt and use designated.
- ✓ Fallback plan agreed if the equipment offered does not match the confirmed need.
The checklist does not choose the machine
It avoids implicit assumptions. Suitability, applicable requirements and the decision to deploy a given model must be established by the parties and competent people.
Order
Have parts, inspections and responsibilities set out in the contract
Hire does not automatically transfer all obligations to the owner. INRS points out that a company hiring a used machine must in particular ensure its compliance and hand over the required documents. For equipment subject to VGP, the hirer remains responsible for this obligation and must check the validity of the inspections and that their intervals are respected, even where the rental company carries them out in practice. The contract sets out who hands over which document, who carries out the expected operations and how a finding is dealt with, without releasing each party from the legal obligations specific to them.
A document list must name the document and its scope, not just ask for “certificates”. The date, the machine's identifier, the configuration covered and any restrictions allow the document to be matched to the equipment delivered.
| Topic | To specify | Expected document or record |
|---|---|---|
| Identification | Model, number, configuration and accessories | Offer or confirmation linked to the request |
| Documents | List, version, scope, date issued and format | Legible file linked to the equipment delivered |
| Inspections and maintenance | Roles before departure, during the hire and after an incident | Applicable reports and job reports |
| Transport and receipt | Address, time slot, means, joint inspection and refusal | Delivery note, condition at departure and findings |
| Breakdown or damage | Contacts, immobilisation, assistance and decision to resume use | Timeline, findings and parties' agreement |
| Return | Cleaning, fuel, accessories, condition and claim period | Signed return condition report or agreed procedure |
Delivery
Reconcile the order, the machine received and its condition
Receipt is an operational checkpoint, not a logistics formality. The team compares the identifier, configuration, accessories and documents with what was agreed. It logs visible damage and discrepancies without altering a source document or tacitly accepting a substitution.
Trackary can centralise the temporary or permanent record of the hired machine, the items received, the condition at departure and the field report. Permissions must distinguish between the document provided by the rental company, the hirer's own findings and the decision taken by each party.
- Identify Record the machine and required equipment's number, then match it against the confirmation.
- Compare Check the configuration, accessories, keys, consumables and documents stated.
- Record Log the visible condition, agreed readings and useful photos, dated and linked to the right item.
- Report Describe any discrepancy immediately and contact the person set out in the contract or procedure.
- Decide Accept with reservations, refuse or immobilise according to the roles and criteria defined by the parties.
A photo keeps a context
An image can document a visible condition. It does not on its own prove compliance, the cause of damage or fitness to use the machine.
During and after
Log events and prepare a joint return inspection
During the mission, a breakdown, an impact, an immobilisation or a repair must be logged in the same record. Time, author, finding, exchanges and decision are kept without rewriting the event afterwards. The procedure also states when to stop use and who may decide what happens next.
The return is prepared before the carrier arrives: accessories gathered, documents produced, readings and discrepancies reviewed. Final condition is compared with initial condition. A disagreement stays visible, with each party's position recorded; the software organises the records but does not settle liability or invoicing.
Working checklist
- ✓ Checks planned during the hire have a result and an author.
- ✓ Each incident or stoppage is linked to the machine, the mission and a timeline.
- ✓ Work carried out by the rental company or a third party keeps its original report.
- ✓ Accessories and documents to be returned are matched against the departure list.
- ✓ The return condition report uses the same areas and reference points as the initial one.
- ✓ Remaining findings have an owner, a deadline and an explicit status.
- ✓ Contractual close-out stays distinct from a technical decision to return the machine to service.
Trackary is not a rental company
Trackary can structure the hire record for a user or rental company's fleet. It does not supply any equipment, does not check its commercial availability, does not conclude the contract and does not decide liability.
Frequently asked questions
Sources and limits of this guide
- INRS — Acquisition, resale, hire, loan and provision of machines ↗ Institutional prevention pointers on choosing equipment, the contract, documents and responsibilities when equipment is made available.
- INRS — Periodic inspections: employer obligations ↗ Updated legal focus recalling in particular the responsibilities of the employer using hired equipment.
- SNCF Réseau — Checking the compliance of your works equipment ↗ Rail context on a process to be matched against the right machine and its use, without confusing it with the hire contract.
- Légifrance — French ministerial order of 1 March 2004 on inspections of lifting appliances and accessories (arrêté du 1er mars 2004) ↗ Consolidated text to examine where the equipment and inspection fall within its scope; applicability must be assessed case by case.
- Software centralises information and formalises a process defined by the organisation. It does not replace legal analysis, physical inspection or the decision of a competent person.
- This checklist does not replace the hire contract, the suitability assessment or the requirements of the network, the site or the manufacturer.
- The obligations of the rental company, the hirer and the employer using the equipment must be determined for the equipment and situation concerned.