Guide · compliance
VGP inspections for road-rail vehicles: tracking
A VGP (vérification générale périodique) inspection of a road-rail vehicle is not the same as maintenance, a pre-use check or rail compliance: each has its own purpose, trigger and evidence. For lifting equipment, the French ministerial order of 1 March 2004 sets the content and, in some cases, the frequency. Tracking means keeping to deadlines, keeping every full report, and closing out findings.
Terminology
Don't confuse VGP, maintenance, pre-use checks and rail compliance
These processes can apply to the same machine without having the same purpose, the same trigger or the same evidence. Grouping them under a single "up to date" status hides the gaps and makes the history hard to explain.
The French ministerial order of 1 March 2004 cited as a source applies to lifting equipment and accessories within its scope. It defines inspections carried out on entry or re-entry into service and periodic thorough inspections, with their content, conditions and, in some cases, their frequency. Whether it applies to a given machine must be established by competent persons.
| Process | Management purpose | Evidence to attach | Mistake to avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applicable statutory inspection | Track the event required by the regulation and its outcome | Full report, date, scope, findings and inspector | Inferring the rule from the machine's commercial name alone |
| Maintenance | Service or restore condition as per the plan and findings | Work order, operation carried out, parts or report | Treating a maintenance job as an inspection report |
| Pre-use check | Apply the operational procedure before the job | Checklist or record defined by the organisation | Presenting it as a VGP inspection when it isn't one |
| Works vehicle compliance | Manage the file corresponding to the design and rail use | Decisions and documents issued by the competent parties | Believing a VGP inspection counts as general rail authorisation |
No universal date to apply without qualification
The nature of the equipment, its configuration, its use, any events that have occurred and the applicable regulations determine the inspection regime. The software must record the validated rule, not invent it.
Process
From the deadline schedule to closing out findings
The calendar is only the starting point of the process. A deadline is useful if it triggers preparation, if the report received is checked, and if findings lead to a tracked decision.
- Qualify the scope Identify the machine, its equipment, the inspection concerned and the rule validated by the organisation.
- Schedule the job Alert the right roles, book the slot and gather the documents requested by the inspector.
- Receive the report Attach the document to the right machine and check its identifiers, scope and legibility.
- Qualify the findings Turn every required follow-up into an assigned action, without changing the meaning of the source report.
- Document the resolution Link maintenance, decision, supporting evidence and closure date to the original finding.
- Prepare the next deadline Calculate the next reminder from the applicable rule and the event that counts.
Digital record
What makes a record of evidence traceable
Archiving a PDF in a folder named after the year isn't enough to make the information usable. Metadata makes it possible to find the report, link it to a finding and understand which version was used for the decision.
Working checklist
- ✓ Stable identifier for the machine and, where relevant, the equipment concerned.
- ✓ Type of inspection and scope captured without ambiguity.
- ✓ Date carried out and inspector as stated in the report.
- ✓ Original document kept in a legible, unoverwritten version.
- ✓ Result and findings linked to the report, without a misleading summary.
- ✓ Operational decision assigned to the person defined by the procedure.
- ✓ Corrective actions linked to their reports or supporting evidence.
- ✓ Next deadline based on a documented, reviewable rule.
Preserve the source report
A status or a summary makes oversight easier, but must not replace the document issued by the inspector or alter its scope.
Responsibilities
What Trackary tracks — and what Trackary doesn't do
Trackary can record the deadline rules set by the company, trigger alerts, schedule a job, store a report and track actions linked to a finding. These functions improve continuity of the record between fleet, field and maintenance.
Trackary does not carry out the inspection of the machine, does not certify its condition, does not choose the applicable regime on the company's behalf, and does not authorise its return to service. The software transfers no legal responsibility: obligations remain with the employers, operators and inspectors concerned, under the applicable regulations and procedures.
The software alerts
It calculates an indicator from configured data and rules.
The inspector checks
The physical inspection and its report are the responsibility of the competent person or body.
The manager decides
Fitness for the job, the handling of a finding and return to service remain assigned human decisions.
Explicit limit of the product
A green indicator in Trackary means the configured data satisfies the tracking rule recorded. It is not an inspection, a certification or a statutory authorisation.
Frequently asked questions
Sources and limits of this guide
- INRS — Periodic inspections: employer obligations ↗ Legal briefing updated in 2025 that distinguishes the general duty to maintain equipment in good condition from the inspections precisely defined for certain equipment.
- INRS ED 6339 — Statutory inspections of lifting machinery, equipment and accessories ↗ Reference brochure for safety officers and users, with a summary of statutory inspections and references to the French Labour Code.
- Légifrance — French ministerial order of 1 March 2004 on lifting equipment and accessories ↗ Consolidated text setting out the scope, content and conditions of the inspections it covers. Consolidated URL checked on 28 July 2026; the version in force must be checked at the time of analysis.
- SNCF Réseau — Checking the compliance of your works vehicles ↗ A separate source on works vehicle compliance: it helps avoid confusing the rail file with VGP tracking.
- This page explains a documentation-tracking method; it is not legal advice, an inspection report or a fitness decision.
- Regulations, procedures and equipment characteristics must be reviewed in their applicable version by competent persons.
- Every alert depends on the quality of the data and rules entered into the software.