Utilization Overview and FAQ
Tenna’s Utilization feature provides you with key insights about the usage of your assets, helping you drive better business decisions. With configurable utilization, you choose the calculation rule that best matches how each asset category is expected operate.
⚠️ Important! Effective March 6, 2026, all existing assets will migrate to configurable utilization. Tenna will assign default utilization rules based on the asset’s Category Type:
- Trucks, Vehicles, Equipment: Usage Based
- Tools, Attachment, Materials, Consumables: No Utilization Rule
The denominator will default to the account’s configured Work Hours per Day.
In this article:
What is Configurable Utilization?
Utilization shows how much your assets are actually used during the workday - the end result being productivity yield or waste. With configurable utilization, you choose the calculation rule that best matches how each asset category is expected operate. Thus, giving you accurate, explainable data for sites, assets, and asset efficiency.
✅ Benefits you’ll notice:
- Better decisions: Spot underused assets and right-size your fleet.
- Clear site attribution: See which projects actually used the asset.
- Flexible by category: Match rules to how equipment truly operates.
How it Works at a Glance
- Rules determine how daily active hours (engine run time or manual adjustments) are assigned to sites.
- At first, rules are assigned by asset category with simple inheritance extending down to the subcategories. Configure once at a parent category or define at any sub-category level.
- Rule changes take effect at midnight on the next calendar day, ensuring consistent daily math.
Key Definitions
- Active Hours = Hours Worked - Numerator
-
Numerator = Trip Durations, Engine Runtime, Manual Meter Adjustments
Expected Hours = Available Hours - Denominator
- Denominator = Work Hours per Day (configured in each Utilization Rule or Site Utilization Override)
-
- Day ZERO = The day the tracker is verified. No utilization will be calculated on this day.
- Day ONE = The first full day after the tracker is verified.
Important! Denominators (Work Hours per Day) on Holidays and Weekends will always = zero.
Holidays and Weekends
Since some companies work on certain holidays, or receive permission from their clients to work weekends, there may be a >5% discrepancy in the utilization calculations. Any hours captured on these days will still be recorded and used in the weekly, monthly, yearly and life to date calculations.
The list of federal holidays on which utilization will not be calculated include:
- New Years Day
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- President's Day
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Columbus Day
- Veteran's Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
The dates for these holidays are dynamically calculated each year based on the Federal Holiday Calendar by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Utilization Rules
A utilization rule is a configuration that tells Tenna how to calculate and assign daily “active hours” and expected work hours for assets, so you can measure utilization consistently. Utilization rules are configured in account settings and then applied to asset categories.
The following are available utilization rules:
| Rule Type | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Time-Based Majority (formerly “Pie Winner”) | All active hours for the day go to the site where the asset spent the most time. If any sites were visited, “No Site” can’t take the whole day. |
Assets that mainly work at one site per day For Example: Supervisor trucks or on road haul trucks. You want the commute, any supply runs that happen offsite, contributing utilization to what makes sense. |
| Time-Based Split (formerly “Pie Slices”) | Active hours are split across sites based on time spent inside each geofence that day. |
Assets that move between multiple sites in a day (e.g., water trucks, light towers) where precision isn’t a key concern. Manual adjustments entered in the Tenna App are allocated across all the sites that were visited over a period of time. |
| Usage-Based | Counts only the active time that overlaps with site presence (trip intervals overlapping geofence time). |
Precise on-site work measurement where accuracy is critical (e.g., mobile pieces that jump between sites where data precision is needed. production/primary support equipment) Manual adjustments entered in the Tenna App are added to the associated Site at the time of the adjustment. |
| Usage-Based Ignore Idle | Same as Usage-Based, but removes idle time detected within geofences. | Assets where idling shouldn’t count (e.g., Production or Primary Support equipment with unique scenarios) |
| None | No utilization is calculated or reported for the asset/category. |
Equipment you don’t want included in utilization analytics. Small Tools, Shoring, trailers, non-powered attachments. Prevents denominator bloat |
Quick Guidance: Choosing the Right Rule
- Mostly single-site per day → Time-Based Majority
- Multiple sites in a day → Time-Based Split
- Need exact on-site work time → Usage-Based
- Exclude idle from on-site work time → Usage-Based Ignore Idle
Utilization for AEMP Assets
AEMP‑connected assets fully participate in Tenna’s configurable utilization framework. This means AEMP assets follow the same utilization rules, calculations, and reporting as assets with Tenna trackers, so you can compare performance across your fleet consistently.
- Tenna uses AEMP‑provided engine runtime and activity data to determine Active Hours.
- AEMP assets use the Work Hours per Day (denominator) as configured in their assigned Utilization Rule.
AEMP assets assigned a Usage Based Ignore Idle rule will not ignore idle for the Site Utilization calculation. Instead, AEMP assets will revert to Usage Based for Site Utilization calculations. This is due to the frequency of updates from AEMP assets.
Site Utilization with ignore idle calculations is only available to assets with Tenna trackers.
Viewing Utilization
Asset Utilization
Asset Utilization is the measure of how many hours an asset actually ran compared to how many hours it was expected to run in a workday, based on your configured utilization rules.
- Includes both Owned and Rental assets
- Based on Ignition On / Ignition Off
- Does not evaluate geofence events
- Any Site reference reflects the Asset’s Current Site
- Best used for understanding how much an asset was operated, regardless of location
Site Utilization
Site Utilization is the measure of how many hours an asset actually ran while inside a site’s geofence compared to that site’s expected work hours per day, using the site’s assigned utilization rule (and any site override) to calculate a utilization percentage for that site.
- Includes Projects, Yards, Offices, and "Not Site"
- Based on Ignition On / Ignition Off
- Evaluates Geofence Enter / Geofence Exit
- Run hours are attributed to the Site where Asset was
- Best used for understanding how effectively a site is utilizing assigned assets
Asset Net Working Hours Utilization
Asset Net Working Hours Utilization is the measure of how many hours an asset was actually working (run time minus idle time) compared to the expected work hours per day, regardless of which site it was on.
- Based on Ignition On / Ignition Off
- Evaluates Idle Start / Idle End
- Does not evaluate geofence events
- Any Site reference reflects the Asset’s Current Site
- Best used for analyzing productive versus non-productive runtime
To learn more about viewing utilization data and reports, view:
Utilization Settings Reports:
- Site Utilization Override Detail: Detailed report on established utilization rule overrides currently associated with Sites.
- Utilization Rule Association Detail: Detailed report on established utilization rules currently associated with assets by their category assignment.
All of the above reports can be found in the Reports feature in Tenna.
Configuration Basics
Note: Rule assignments use category inheritance: initially assigned at the major category level for category types “equipment”, “truck” and “vehicle”. Subcategories inherit their rule from the parent.
Accounts can define rule assignment at any subcategory level, moving from inherited association to direct.
This icon is present when the rule is inherited. When directly associated, no icon exists.
- Decide your default rule at the highest relevant category level (e.g., “Heavy Equipment”).
- Override specific subcategories that behave differently (e.g., “Production Excavators” use Usage-Based with 10 Hours per Day vs “Water Trucks” use Time-Based Split with 4 Hours per Day).
- Set expected work hours on each rule to align utilization percentages with your operating expectations.
Note: Rule changes take effect the next calendar day at midnight for the account time zone. This ensure consistent calculation methods across same day data.
Example Scenario
A unit visits two sites during a day, while spending a portion between geofences (i.e. No Site).
It’s daily activity for time in geofence can be broken out in the following manner:
- Site A - 12 hours out of the 24 hour period
- Site B - 8 hours out of the 24 hour period
- No Site 4 Hours out of the 24 hour period
During the Day the unit ran for 7 hours, and has the the following operating hour breakdown:
- Site A - 5 hours of run time, of which Engine Idle was captured as 1 hour.
- Site B - 1.5 hours of run time, of which Engine Idle was captured as 0.5 hours.
- No Site - 0.5 hours of run time, of which there was no Engine Idle.
Time-Based Majority Logic
- Result: Site A receives all 7 active hours.
- Reason: Site A is the Winner! The unit was in Site A for 12 hours out of the day, which was greater than Site B by 4 hours
“No Site” is only the winner if the unit didn’t go into any geofences during the day.
Time-Based Split Logic
- Result: Site A gets 2.0 active hours, Site B gets 1.3 active hours and No Site gets 0.7 active hours
- Reason:
- The unit was in Site A for 50% of the day (12/24 = 50% x 7 run hours = 3.5 active hours allocated)
- The unit was in Site b for 33% of the day (8/24 = 33% x 7 run hours = 2.3 active hours allocated)
- The unit was in No Site for 17% of the day (4/24 = 17% x 7 run hours = 1.2 active hours allocated)
Usage Based Logic
- Result: Site A gets 5.0 active hours, Site B gets 1.5 active hours, and No Site gets 0.5 active hours
- Reason: we are tracking the run time that occurred while in the site’s geofence.
Usage Based Ignore Idle
- Results: Site A gets 4.0 active hours, Site B gets 1.0 active hour, and No Site gets 0.5 active hours
- Reason:
- While in Site A, the unit ran 5 hours with 1 hour of engine idle, therefore 4 active hours (5 run hours - 1 idle hour = 4 active hours)
- While in Site B, the unit ran 1.5 hours with 0.5 hours of engine idle, therefore 1 active hour (1.5 run hours - 0.5 idle hours = 1 active hour)
- While in No Site, the unit ran 0.5 hours with 0 hours of engine idle, there for 0.5 active hours.
Good-to-Knows:
- “No Site” is treated as a real site type and stored explicitly for clarity in reporting.
- Manual hours and some telematics sources may not include precise active intervals; the system sensibly attributes these based on their event timestamps.
- For audits, the system keeps historical snapshots of rule assignments and category mappings.
FAQs
When do my rule changes take effect?
After the next daily snapshot at midnight in your account’s time zone. This keeps each day’s math consistent.
Can I exclude idle time from utilization?
Yes. Use the “Usage-Based Ignore Idle” rule to remove idle time detected within geofences from utilization.
What if an asset works across multiple sites in one day?
Choose between Time-Based Split for proportional distribution or Usage-Based for exact on-site overlaps.
Will rented assets show site utilization?
Yes, as long as the relevant categories have rules assigned.
Why don’t I see utilization for the installation day of a new tracker?
Installation day is treated as Day 0 with no utilization to avoid partial-day confusion. Your first full day will show normal results.
It seems like my utilization data is incorrect (too high). What could be the cause of this?
This can be due to wiring issues during installation. If the asset has a Master Disconnect switch that is located on the Ground side of battery and the tracker's ground is connected directly to the battery, this creates a “floating ground” and will power up the tracker ignition wire when the disconnect switch is in off position. This is interpreted by the tracker as the asset running and will skew utilization data high.
Solution: To fix this, the tracker's ground wire should be moved from battery negative terminal and mounted to the asset chassis. View the Tracker Troubleshooting Guide for more details.
I am seeing 25 hours a day for Site Utilization. What is causing this?
When daylight savings time occurs, you may see 25 hour durations for a day. This is taken into consideration on our end and will not skew the results of the utilization calculations on that day. No further action is needed.
Why am I missing utilization data for the Previous Work Day, but not the other time periods?
The asset had a utilization rule at one point in time, but then was updated to “No Utilization Rule”. If the update was made prior to yesterday, then no data will show for Previous Work Day. In the same way, if the update was made over a week ago, no data will show for Previous Work Day or Current Week.
Are manual adjustments treated differently depending on the utilization rule?
Yes. For example, if you have an asset with a TennaBLE or TennaINTEL Solar, the amount of time within a site will be known. If you manually adjust the hours in the Tenna App, those hours will be treated differently depending on the utilization rule:
- Time-Based Split: All of the manually added hours will be spread to the previous trip or meter adjustment and allocated across all Sites visited during that time.
- Usage Based: All of the manually added hours will be allocated to the associated Site at the time of the adjustment.