Case Study

Comgás Field Safety App

A mobile and web product developed to replace paper-based Risk Analysis and Work Permit workflows, helping field teams capture information, continue offline, and move approvals through a clearer back-office process.

Client Comgás
Year 2024
Role Product Designer
Platform Mobile app + web dashboard

Challenge

Context and problem

Comgás relied on paper-based Risk Analysis and Work Permit routines to document operational conditions in the field. Technicians needed to fill forms, capture evidence, register time and location, and keep work moving even when connectivity was limited.

The challenge was not only to digitize a form. The product needed to support conditional safety rules, offline completion, supervisor approvals, back-office management, and a more productive relationship between field work and operational review.

Solution

Design approach

I designed a mobile-first workflow where technicians could complete Risk Analysis forms, attach photos and supporting evidence, use contextual information such as time and location, and submit records when internet access became available.

The same app connected Risk Analysis to Work Permit logic: depending on the technician's answers, a Work Permit could be required before an operation started or continued. A web dashboard supported supervisors and back-office teams with approvals, reports, users, forms, and notifications.

Scope Discovery + IA + UX/UI + Design system
Context Energy / field operations
Users Technicians, supervisors, back office
Output Developed mobile and web product

Product evidence

Replacing field paperwork with a connected operating workflow

The product transformed Risk Analysis and Work Permit routines into a connected workflow across mobile and web. Field teams could register risks in the app, while supervisors and back-office teams had a structured environment to review, approve, manage, and communicate.

This created a more productive process: less dependence on paper, clearer traceability, better evidence attached to each record, and a faster path between field input and operational decision-making.

Field context

Designing for small screens, field conditions, and offline work

Discovery included visits to the office and to field environments, which helped clarify the practical constraints of the workflow: technicians would use small screens, often in external operational contexts, and could not depend on stable internet access.

The mobile experience was designed so forms could be completed in the field and sent later when connectivity returned. This kept the workflow productive without forcing technicians to wait for ideal conditions before documenting the operation.

Key UX Decisions

Design decisions focused on productivity and approval flow

The most important decisions were about reducing manual effort while preserving the control needed for safety-critical operations.

Connect AR and PT in one app

Risk Analysis answers could trigger a Work Permit requirement inside the same mobile experience, avoiding a disconnected handoff between diagnosis and authorization.

Support offline completion

Technicians could keep filling forms in the field and submit the record later, reducing dependence on connectivity during the operation.

Use contextual data to reduce effort

Information such as time and location helped reduce manual entry and made each record more useful for review, traceability, and follow-up.

Make approvals manageable

Supervisor approval was treated as a core workflow, with structured information, evidence, status, and back-office visibility supporting faster decisions.

Risk Analysis App

A guided flow for field risk assessment

The Risk Analysis flow was designed around guided questions, progressive steps, and a final review before submission. This helped technicians complete the process with less ambiguity and made the resulting record easier to understand later.

Depending on what the technician filled in, the system could identify whether a Work Permit was required before the work started or continued. This conditional logic was one of the central complexities of the product.

Evidence capture

Photos, videos, and observations attached to the field record

Evidence capture was essential for replacing paper with something more useful than a digital checklist. The app allowed technicians to add photos, videos, files, and observations directly to the Risk Analysis record.

This created a clearer connection between what happened in the field and what supervisors or back-office teams needed to evaluate before approving, following up, or documenting the operation.

Back office

A web platform for approvals, management, and communication

The web experience supported the operational side of the product: reviewing Risk Analyses and Work Permits, approving or following up on requests, managing users and forms, generating reports, and sending notifications to app users.

This made the back office a coordination layer rather than a passive archive. Supervisors and administrative teams could monitor work status, inspect records, and keep the field team informed from the same system.

End-to-end flow

From field completion to review and approval

The product architecture connected mobile capture, offline completion, synchronization, dashboard visibility, and supervisor approval into one end-to-end flow.

This was the core productivity gain: the technician could document the work where it happened, while supervisors and back-office teams received a structured record with enough context to continue the process.

Mobile system

A compact interface system for repeated field use

The app needed to support repeated operational use, not a one-time interaction. I designed screens, components, states, and patterns that kept the experience consistent across Risk Analysis, Work Permit logic, evidence capture, maps, activities, analytics, and profile areas.

The design system and prototypes were handed off to a development team of two developers, with ongoing design support during implementation alongside the PM.

Outcome

A developed product for a paper-heavy operational process

The project moved beyond concept: the product was developed with close design handoff and implementation follow-up.

The result was a clearer digital workflow for Risk Analysis and Work Permit routines, designed to reduce manual effort, improve traceability, standardize approvals, support evidence-based review, and make communication between field teams and back office more efficient.

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