Guide · field app
App for road-rail equipment: the guide
An app for road-rail equipment links the office and the field around a single record: the fleet manager prepares the job from the equipment record, the technician consults it and logs checks, observations and photos on site, then the report joins the history. With Trackary, the day's schedule, the record and the checklist are loaded before the mission, and the data syncs once the network returns.
Workflow
One record before, during and after the job
The fleet manager prepares the job from the equipment record. The technician gets a usable version in the field. On return, findings join the history with no re-entry and no stray file.
- Plan Link a mission, a piece of equipment, an assignee, a date and the relevant report template.
- Preload Make the records, instructions and checklists needed available on the device before any loss of network.
- Carry out Guide data entry step by step, accept the expected states and attach useful observations.
- Document the fault Link a photo, comment, severity level and the person to notify to the relevant item.
- Sync Transmit data when the network returns, with a clear state of what has been sent and what is still local.
- Review and decide Check completeness, qualify reserves and archive the report in the equipment record.
Organisation
Each role reads and produces different information
A good app avoids reproducing the entire back office on a phone. It distributes the tasks: prepare in the office, report on site, decide at the right level and keep an understandable record.
| Role | Before the job | During or after | Expected result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet manager | Assignment, availability, check template | Review of discrepancies and status update | Documented decision and next action |
| Field technician | Day's schedule, equipment record, points to check | Findings, comments, photos and reporting | Complete, understandable report with an owner |
| Workshop or maintenance | Reserves and planned work | Job carried out and supporting evidence | Link between fault, action and closure |
| Management or audit | Access rules and scope consulted | Reading the history and exporting if needed | Evidence retrievable with its context |
Access rights are part of the workflow
Viewing, editing, approving or reopening are not the same action. Roles must reflect the actual organisation and be tested with the users concerned.
Field conditions
Offline mode must be a visible state, not a vague promise
On a site, the network can be absent, intermittent or simply unusable at the moment of data entry. The app must show which data is available locally and which actions are still waiting to be synced.
Trackary provides offline field workflows for jobs prepared for this purpose. The day's schedule, the equipment record and the checklist are loaded before the mission, then the data syncs once the connection comes back.
Offline mode also means framing the data kept on the device, its lock settings, and what to do if it is lost or stolen. These measures are part of the deployment's security policy: the CNIL recommends in particular limiting mobile storage to what is necessary and providing suitable protection and erasure mechanisms.
Working checklist
- ✓ The mission is downloaded before departure and its offline state is identifiable.
- ✓ The documents needed are available locally, in a format suited to the phone.
- ✓ Data entry is saved without relying on a continuous connection.
- ✓ Photos and comments stay linked to the right check point.
- ✓ The user sees what has synced, what is pending or in error.
- ✓ Resuming after closing the app is tested on the devices actually used.
- ✓ Edit conflicts and duplicates have a known handling rule.
To be tested under real conditions
Offline operation depends on the configured workflow, the volume of documents, the devices and the sync scenario. It must be validated before deployment in the field.
Scoping
What makes an app genuinely usable
The choice is not just a matter of how many features there are. You need to check that the data model represents the fleet, that data entry stays short in the field, and that the report supports a decision on return.
Trackary is management software configurable around equipment families, check templates, frequencies, alerts and access rights. Where a process cannot be covered by configuration, its adaptation is scoped with The Level Code.
Structured data
Machine, equipment, mission, check, reserve and action stay linked rather than scattered across files.
Proportionate data entry
The fields shown match the mission and the role, with a clear outcome for non-conforming or not-applicable cases.
Useful output
The report shows who found what, when, on which piece of equipment, and what follow-up was decided.
Software does not carry out the check
The app guides and records a procedure defined by the organisation. It replaces neither the competence of the person carrying it out, nor the physical examination, nor the manager's decision.
Frequently asked questions
Sources and limits of this guide
- SNCF Réseau — Checking the compliance of your works equipment ↗ Reminder of the role of a compliance check by the body presented by SNCF Réseau; management software does not produce this compliance.
- CNIL — Securing mobile IT ↗ Precautions concerning mobile devices, limiting local storage and the loss or theft of a device used outside the premises.
- The examples describe a software workflow; they do not define the mandatory content of a check or a report.
- Offline mode and integrations must be tested with the devices, volumes, access rights and network conditions of the actual deployment.