Redesigning an Equipment Inspection App for Use in Hazardous Industrial Environments

Arnlea’s Intrinsix is a mobile and tablet application used for equipment integrity inspections in hazardous industrial environments — oil and gas installations, offshore platforms, and similar sites where conditions are difficult and accuracy is non-negotiable.

The existing app had usability problems that were causing inspectors to make mistakes, work slower than necessary, and rely on paper-based backups the software was supposed to replace. We redesigned the full application.

Client
Arnlea
Industry
Energy
Management
Product type
Mobile App
Web app
Role
Lead designer
Redesigning an Equipment Inspection App for Use in Hazardous Industrial Environments

You cannot design this from an office

The most important decision we made at the start: field research is not optional for a product like this. You cannot design for an inspector doing rounds on an offshore installation by sitting at a desk and making assumptions.

We worked to understand the real conditions of use:

  • Equipment worn in hazardous environments — PPE, safety gear, conditions where removing a glove to use a touchscreen is not practical
  • Inspections conducted under time pressure in outdoor conditions with variable lighting
  • Data entry that has to be done accurately under cognitive load, often while managing physical access to equipment
  • Connectivity frequently absent — underground, remote sites, or offshore where no signal is available

We developed user personas and mapped the full inspection workflow — not just the digital touchpoints, but what inspectors were doing before they opened the app, what happened while using it, and what they needed after. This opened up design opportunities invisible from the interface alone.

Critical finding: the highest-risk moments for human error weren’t in the most visually complex parts of the interface. They were in places that looked simple — free text fields, multi-step procedures without enforced sequence — where the absence of guardrails was causing problems that accumulated over time.

The design decisions that reduced errors

Replacing open text with structured inputs

Free-text fields throughout the app were a source of inconsistency and downstream data problems. The same equipment type was being entered five different ways — making data unreliable for reporting and audit trails.

Decision: replace open text with structured dropdowns and pre-defined options wherever accuracy mattered. This eliminated a whole class of data errors and made the output reliable enough to act on.

Enforcing step-by-step sequences

Complex inspection procedures could previously be completed in any order — meaning steps were sometimes missed or done incorrectly without the system flagging the gap.

Decision: enforce sequential steps for any procedure where order matters. Inspectors can’t skip ahead or mark a procedure complete with steps outstanding. This eliminated a category of errors that had previously been invisible until an audit revealed them.

Designing for gloves and outdoor conditions

The visual interface was rebuilt with:

  • High-contrast colour scheme readable in bright outdoor light and low-light indoor conditions
  • Enlarged tap targets throughout — sized for use with safety gloves, not bare fingers
  • Clear, unambiguous state indicators readable at a glance without needing to read small text

Offline first

Connectivity on offshore platforms and underground sites is unreliable. The old app would fail or lose progress when the connection dropped — in practice meaning inspectors were carrying paper backups and manually re-entering data later.

The redesigned app works fully offline. Inspection data saves locally as the inspector works and syncs automatically when a connection becomes available. The paper backup workflow was eliminated.

What we delivered

  • Fully redesigned Android application for phone and tablet
  • New information architecture following the natural sequence of a real inspection
  • Structured inputs replacing free text across the app
  • Enforced step-by-step sequences for complex procedures
  • Fully functional offline mode with automatic sync
  • Visual interface optimised for outdoor use and gloved hands
  • Complete design system with all assets required for implementation

In safety-critical inspection environments, the consequences of data errors extend beyond the app — they affect maintenance decisions, compliance audits, and in the worst cases, equipment failures. Designing the interface to make accuracy the path of least resistance was the defining goal.

Reviews

Deep in the trenches with our partners.

★★★★★

I had the pleasure of working with Gytis for a long time, and he has consistently been one of the most thoughtful and dependable product designers I’ve worked with.

Gytis thinks deeply about the product, the user, and the business context behind every design decision. He is very strong at turning ambiguous ideas into clear, polished, usable experiences, and he brings a high level of taste and discipline to the work.

Gytis is someone I could trust with important product problems. He communicates clearly, takes feedback well, and has a calm, mature way of moving projects forward even when the direction is still evolving. That combination of creativity, judgment, and ownership made him a real partner to the product team!

Mike Chen

CEO

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Cohere Commerce

★★★★★

"I came to Gytis looking for web designer. What I quickly realized is that Gytis's approach to design is to thoroughly immerse himself in the study of a client's company and then construct an information architecture which accurately and directly accomplishes the most important goals for the business. I have worked with all kinds of designers and creatives in the past, and Gytis stands head and shoulders above them all.”

Clay Spence

CEO

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Nimbus Health

★★★★★

"Gytis consistently demonstrated strong design skills, professionalism, and a great ability to collaborate smoothly with both the team and customer. His work left a very positive impression on our customers, and communication throughout the projects was always easy and constructive. I’d recommend him as a reliable and experienced designer."

Renata Šulekauskė

General Manager

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Miles Lithuania

★★★★★

"Gytis Mark has highly talented and motivated product designers. We worked together for a year with them collaborating on multiple projects during this time. Gytis Mark consistently built visually stunning designs while also paying attention to the user experience. Their attention to detail and intuitive designs resonated positively with our clients. They were open to feedback and incorporated them into his designs rapidly, which helped us to refine our product experience."

Kensen John

Engineering Lead

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Tailwind App

★★★★★

"It was an absolute pleasure working with the Gytis Mark on our web and mobile application analysis and design. The team displayed great talents in the user experience field while they worked with us. It's not just their technical skills that impress me, however. It is also their amazingly positive attitude that made it a joy to work together. I recommend working with the Gytis Mark without any doubt."

Diego Dal Cero

CEO

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Evenfi

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"We cannot recommend Gytis Mark more highly. Their designs for our LPGA Tournament turned out better than we could have asked for and our client said it's the best-looking site on the Professional Tour. Their attention to detail, ability to hit deadlines and wonderful communication made them a pleasure to work with. We would be lucky to work with them again!"

Heather Lynch

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DyrectLync

★★★★★

"The earliest stage of company building is absolutely foundational to ensure long-term success -- despite technically being an external contractors, Gytis's team was deep in the trenches with us, driving impact, understanding complex issues, and creating elegant UX solutions. We are extremely grateful for their thoughtfulness, positive attitude, and care. We know they can drive organizational impact."

Eric Heimark

CEO

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Fast-Growing Stealth Startup

★★★★★

"Gytis Mark joined the project at a very early stage with no previous knowledge of the industry. They were able to grasp complex ideas quickly and provide valuable product development ideas from the get go. They had a clear and transparent process and kept us well informed. He took full ownership of the project taking in from idea to product from 0 - 1.”

Lorenzo Foglianti

CTO

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Private equity startup

★★★★★

“Gytis Mark worked with my startup, Lifeplanner, for over a year focusing on product design, UX design and communication. Their team is extremely professional in what they do. They researched our industry, building a true understanding of the business, its customers, competitors and stakeholders. They are also open-minded and likable - a true team players who know when to lean back and listen and when to challenge. We are very satisfied with our collaboration and with Gytis Mark team's deliveries.”

Kathleen Meling

CTO

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Lifeplanner

★★★★★

"Working with Gytis on defense-sector projects at BPTI was a strong experience. He brought a level of design thinking and professionalism that isn't easy to find in a domain as specific and demanding as ours. He picked up the context quickly, asked the right questions, and delivered work that was both thoughtful and practical. I'd recommend him without hesitation."

Simonas Dapkus

Defense programme manager

·

BPTI

★★★★★

"We've worked with Gytis Mark across a number of projects and what stands out every time is the genuine care they bring to the work. They put real time and research into each brief, considering every angle before settling on a direction, and he never approaches a project on autopilot. They listen properly, get under the skin of what the client actually needs, and delivers great design that does the strategic job it's meant to. I'd recommend Gytis Mark without hesitation to anyone looking for a designers who treat their work like it's their own."

Roxy Crouch

Co-founder

·

Growthmode

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