VGP · software
VGP software or CMMS: are they the same thing, and do you need two tools?
No, they are two families. VGP (French periodic thorough examination) tracking software handles statutory inspections: due dates, reports, findings and the safety register. A CMMS handles maintenance: work orders, preventive servicing, parts and history. One tool is enough when it covers both and a single team runs the fleet. Two tools make sense when the inspection body works in its own software or maintenance is already tooled up.
Both tools talk about “equipment” and “due dates”, hence the confusion. Here is what each family does, and how to decide.
VGP software and CMMS: what is the difference?
A VGP (French periodic thorough examination, vérification générale périodique) aims to detect “in good time any deterioration likely to create a hazard” (French Labour Code, article R4323-23); see our VGP and lifting guide. Maintenance, for its part, aims to keep or restore equipment “in a state enabling it to perform its function”, according to the definition of the INRS (the French national research and safety institute).
According to the INRS (brochure ED 6339), statutory inspections “must not be confused with maintenance operations” and “cannot replace them”. Hence two families of software:
- VGP software on the inspection body’s side: the inspector records findings during the visit, produces the report and sends it to the inspected company.
- VGP tracking software on the operator’s side: the company tracks each machine’s due dates, files the reports received and deals with the findings. Our pages VGP tracking software and free VGP software explain this distinction.
- The CMMS (computerised maintenance management system, GMAO in French): it organises work orders, preventive servicing and maintenance history. The basics are in CMMS: what is it?.
What VGP tracking software does
It starts from the obligations: machines subject to inspection, intervals, last visit, report and findings. Two genuine advantages of this family:
- The regulatory vocabulary is built in. Intervals, reports, findings and the register are there from the start, with nothing to configure. See also reading a VGP report.
- The file is ready to show. The safety register and reports may be kept “on any medium” (article R4323-27): the software files them by machine, ready on the day of an inspection. See digital safety register.
What a CMMS does
It starts from the technicians’ work: requests, work orders, servicing, parts and history. Two genuine advantages of this family:
- Preventive servicing is planned by usage. Preventive maintenance is carried out “at predetermined intervals” or according to a “predefined number of units of use” (INRS): for a machine, that means the hour meter. The CMMS triggers the servicing set out in the manufacturer’s manual.
- The maintenance history is complete. Every work order or part replaced is added to the machine’s record. For lifting equipment, the employer must keep a maintenance logbook (article R4323-19); the CMMS provides its content. See how to choose a CMMS.
Feature comparison table
The “in general” columns describe a family, not a product: each vendor has its own scope, to be checked in a demo.
| Feature | VGP tracking software (in general) | CMMS (in general) | Trackary |
|---|---|---|---|
| VGP due dates and alerts | Yes, it is the core of the tool | Depends on the vendor: set up as a recurring task | Configurable due dates and alerts; blocking VGP expired: the machine shows as out of service |
| Inspection reports attached to the machine | Yes; on the inspection body’s side, it produces the report | Documents attached to the equipment, depending on the vendor | Reports attached to the record; Trackary AI reads an imported report, nothing is saved before approval |
| Findings tracked until cleared | Often, depending on the vendor | Possible if each finding becomes a work order | Yes, clearance traced with a reason (and a photo if needed); see clearing findings |
| Safety register | Often offered in digital form | Depends on the vendor | Reports and history by machine, CSV or Excel export |
| Inspections other than lifting | Depends on the vendor: fire, electrical, PPE… | Any recurring task, to be configured | Yes, each type of inspection has its own due date |
| Work orders | Generally not (except mixed vendors, e.g. Cloud VGP) | Yes, it is the core of the tool | Job schedule; on the schedule, a rental departure for a machine with an overdue VGP is flagged |
| Preventive servicing by hours | Generally not (except mixed vendors, e.g. Cloud VGP) | Yes, in general | Servicing scheduled by hours or by dates |
| Parts | Generally not (except mixed vendors, e.g. Cloud VGP) | Stock and purchasing, depending on the vendor | Parts to order and a simple parts stock (stock in, stock out, reorder threshold); no purchasing management |
| Signed service report | Inspection report signed by the inspector | Job sheet, depending on the vendor | PDF signed on the phone, with photo |
| Field entries without a network | Depends on the vendor | Depends on the vendor | While the app stays open: entries kept and sent when the network returns |
| Field reporting by QR | Depends on the vendor | Depends on the vendor | QR on the machine: report with photo, no login |
When one tool is enough, when you need two
There is no single answer: it depends on who carries out the VGPs, who does the servicing and the size of the fleet.
Findings often decide it: a finding in the report is resolved by a repair. With two tools, someone copies the finding from one into the other, then its clearance the other way; this double entry causes findings to be forgotten.
- One tool is enough if a single team runs the fleet and the servicing, the inspection body gives you a PDF report and your mechanics clear the findings.
- One tool is enough, even a spreadsheet, if the fleet is small: our VGP tracking spreadsheet is free to get started.
- Two tools make sense if you are an inspection body yourself: inspector software for your reports, a CMMS for your own equipment.
- Two tools make sense if your inspection body uploads its reports into its own tool: still bring the PDF back onto the machine’s record.
- Two tools make sense if a CMMS already covers the plant or workshop and a safety department keeps the VGPs separately: decide who re-enters what.
- For a rental fleet, the page CMMS for aerial platform rental gives a set of criteria.
Examples of vendors in each family
VGP software. According to its website, Pro VGP is “designed for professionals who carry out periodic thorough examinations of lifting equipment”, with PDF reports, digital signatures, scheduling and a client portal; its FAQ mentions an offline mode. According to its website, Octav is published in France “for inspection companies, inspection bodies and HSE teams”, with offline field entry, QR code and NFC.
According to its website, Cloud VGP also targets operators (construction, equipment rental) and points out that the VGP “is still carried out by a competent person or an inspection body”; its Features page lists scheduling, reports and a safety register, and presents it as “the CMMS solution that links maintenance and VGP inspections” (our translation). So the line between the two families is not watertight: other vendors also claim both, which is worth checking in a demo. See alternative to Cloud VGP.
CMMS. According to its website, DimoMaint MX covers equipment, work orders, preventive maintenance, planning and parts stock; its mining, quarrying and public works page lists the VGP among the sector’s challenges. See also alternative to DimoMaint. According to its website, Mobility Work mentions the history of VGP inspections on its construction page; its Pricing page lists its plans as quote-based (Pricing page).
Information checked on 16 October 2026 on each vendor’s website. Trackary is neither affiliated with nor a partner of any of these vendors. Something inaccurate? Write to contact@thelevelcode.com.
What Trackary covers and does not cover
Trackary, equipment fleet management software and CMMS, brings together in the same tool:
- tracking of VGPs and other inspections: due dates, alerts, attached reports, findings tracked until cleared;
- maintenance: servicing by hours or dates, history and service logbook per machine, list of parts to order;
- work orders: schedule, report signed on the phone, field reports via QR code;
- the field app, in the phone’s browser: as long as it stays open, entries are kept and sent when the network returns.
- It does not carry out the VGP, which remains the job of an inspection body or a competent person, and does not certify machines.
- Rental is not the core of the tool: no quotes or invoicing. Simple parts stock (stock in, stock out, reorder threshold); no purchasing management.
- Trackary costs €14 excl. VAT per active machine per month (€11 above 50 machines), unlimited users, with a 30-day free trial, no credit card required.
To track the VGPs, servicing and work orders of your machines in one place, try Trackary on your own fleet. Free trial ↗