Does a pre-start checklist replace a VGP inspection?

No. It records an operational check defined by the company. A VGP inspection, where applicable, follows a specific framework, content and conditions. Both records can be linked to the same machine record without being merged.

Is there a universal checklist for all road-rail vehicles?

No. The content depends on the family, the configuration, the manual, the mission, the field of use and the procedures. A common identification base can exist, but technical points must be validated for each scope.

Should a photo be mandatory for every question?

Generally no. This lengthens data entry and produces many images of little use. A photo is relevant to identify something, document a deviation, or show a defined area, with its context, and without being presented as sufficient proof on its own.

What should the app do when a deviation is entered?

It applies the configured workflow: a visible instruction, reporting, a possible closure block, an assigned action and retention of the finding. Severity and the technical decision must not be invented by the software.

How do you test the check offline?

Load a mission, genuinely cut the network, enter answers and photos, close then reopen the app, and check the sync. The test should also cover conflicts if the record was modified at the office while offline.

Who can decide that the vehicle departs despite an observation?

The company's procedure must designate the competent person and the conditions for the decision. Trackary can make the observation and history visible, but grants no authorisation and does not replace that responsibility.

Pre-start check for a road-rail vehicle

Distinctions

Name the check performed precisely

Vocabulary prevents the report from being given the wrong scope. A pre-start inspection, a pre-use check, a maintenance task, a VGP (periodic thorough inspection) and a rail compliance process may concern the same vehicle without sharing the same purpose, the same person responsible, or the same legal basis.

The checklist follows a procedure defined by the organisation for a given family, configuration and moment. It must not reproduce a technical text without mastering its scope, nor suggest that a few "compliant" answers replace a prescribed inspection or the decision of the person in charge.

Element	Purpose	Expected author	Not to be concluded
Pre-start checklist	Record the points required by the operational procedure	Trained user designated by the organisation	That it automatically constitutes a VGP inspection
Maintenance	Service, diagnose or restore to working order	Competent person named in the plan	That a ticked task counts as an inspection report
Applicable inspection	Carry out the examination required within its regulatory scope	Competent person under the required conditions	That it authorises any rail use
Decision to depart	Take into account the whole record and context	Person designated by the procedure	That it can be automated by a colour code

The template's name must state its scope

Prefer "pre-mission preparation check" with its version and scope over a generic title such as "compliance check", which could be read as covering more than what was actually examined.

Checklist template

Write observable points with an expected outcome

A question like "equipment OK?" is quick but unusable. Each point must state what is observed, on which sub-assembly, and with which possible answers. The "not applicable" option requires a reason whenever the point depends on an absent configuration. A value or a photo should only be requested if it genuinely helps the review.

The sections follow the field sequence: identification, preparation environment, general condition, parts and equipment concerned, available documents, accessories, tests required by the procedure, and closure. The technical content comes from manuals, analyses and procedures validated by the company, not from a generic template copied off the internet.

Finding

What the person actually saw, measured or tested according to the procedure.

Deviation

Difference described without a hasty diagnosis, with the details needed for review.

Outcome

Stop, report, action or decision assigned according to criteria prepared in advance.

Working checklist

✓ Display the equipment's identifier and expected configuration before the first question.
✓ Phrase a single observable finding per point, in wording the users understand.
✓ Provide suitable answers: satisfactory, deviation, not checked, or not applicable with a reason.
✓ Make a comment or photo mandatory only when it clarifies an anomaly.
✓ Link each deviation to a defined severity or workflow, without letting the user invent one.
✓ Display stop instructions and contacts without burying them in an attachment.
✓ Version the template and keep the version used with each report.

Field

Prepare for offline use and preserve an understandable timeline

When an offline workflow is included and configured, the mission, the machine record and the correct inspection template must be loaded onto the device before a possible loss of network. The rollout must verify that the user can identify which data is available locally, that answers are preserved while being entered, and that attachments remain linked to the relevant point.

Within this configured scope, Trackary prepares the field workflow then syncs the report once the connection returns. The rollout test must cover closing the app, a large photo, an interrupted sync, and a possible change made at the office in the meantime. It must also confirm that the user can distinguish what is local, sent, pending or in error.

Preload Download the day's schedule, the machine record, the relevant documents and the validated template before leaving network coverage.
Identify Confirm the machine and its configuration without relying solely on the schedule.
Observe Follow the planned order, record the states and describe a deviation at the point where it appears.
Escalate Apply the stop or reporting instruction and contact the designated person when the criterion requires it.
Close the entry Review any missing points, record the identified author and the system-generated timestamp, then make the sync status visible.
Review Assess the deviation back at the office, assign the follow-up, and preserve the original report in the history.

A synced report is not a decision

Transmission confirms that the data has reached the system. It does not mean that the deviation is acceptable, nor that the vehicle can depart.

Governance

Link deviations to actions and trial the template on a few missions

The checklist adds value when anomalies don't disappear into the final PDF. Each deviation keeps the original finding, the person notified, the action created, the attachments added and the closure decision. Correcting a data point must not rewrite what the technician originally reported.

A pilot across several equipment families and situations helps remove ambiguous questions, shorten data entry and check the escalation workflows. You measure incomplete reports, points frequently marked not applicable, the time before a deviation is picked up, and syncs left pending. An abnormal frequency should lead to revising the procedure or the template, not to asking teams to tick boxes faster.

Have the template reviewed by the business, by health and safety, and by the users concerned.
Test a normal mission, a deviation with a stop, and a genuinely not-applicable case.
Check that the right person receives the information without relying on a separate message.
Keep the version of the template used and the date of its internal approval.
Separate data correction, technical handling and the decision to return the vehicle to service.
Schedule a review after the first few weeks, using anonymised examples.

Trackary's role

Trackary centralises the machine record, configurable inspections, field reports and their history. The template's content, thresholds, instructions and decisions remain defined and owned by the competent organisation.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and limits of this guide

INRS — Initial or periodic inspections ↗ Guidance for distinguishing regulated inspections from upkeep and from checks organised by the employer.
INRS — Periodic inspections: employer obligations ↗ Legal focus note recalling the variety of inspections and the importance of assessing their scope rather than applying a generic template.
SNCF Réseau — Checking the compliance of your works equipment ↗ Context on the compliance of works equipment, distinct from an internal pre-start checklist.
Légifrance — Order of 1 March 2004 on the inspection of lifting appliances and accessories (arrêté du 1er mars 2004) ↗ Consolidated text, useful when a given piece of equipment and inspection fall within its scope; it must not be generalised to every road-rail vehicle.
Software centralises information and formalises a process defined by the organisation. It replaces neither regulatory analysis, nor a physical inspection, nor the decision of a competent person.
Technical points, stop criteria, competencies, documents and records expected must be established from the applicable risks, configurations and procedures.
A complete report documents an entry that is attributed and timestamped within the scope of the template used; on its own it does not certify the vehicle's fitness or compliance. Its evidential value depends in particular on the identification, integrity, timestamping and retention mechanisms actually in place.