Hours worked against hours paid for
Utilization, idle ratio and cost per hour, read from every engine.
- Go-live
- Live in 5 working days
- How you buy it
- Field plan; cost per hour on Shop
A machine on the books costs money whether it runs or not. Gytix sets each machine’s engine hours against the hours it was available and puts a cost per hour beside it, so the dozer that ran 6 hours last month becomes a decision.
How analytics goes live
- Day 1
Hours start flowing
Machines on A1 gateways or manufacturer feeds report engine and idle hours from the first day.
- Days 2 to 3
Define available hours
We set the working calendar per job, such as five 10-hour days, and your utilization benchmark per type.
- Day 4
Load cost inputs
On Shop, you enter purchase or lease figures and insurance once; repairs, parts and fuel flow in.
- Day 5
First Monday report
Utilization and idle ratio by machine, type and job, with the machines furthest below benchmark.
What the Monday report holds
- Who it is for
- Owners and equipment managers with 25 to 500 machines
- Utilization per machine, type and job: hours worked over hours available
- Idle ratio per machine, from engine idle hours
- Owning and operating cost per hour for each machine, on the Shop plan
- An underused list of machines below benchmark for 30 days
- Weekly and monthly reports by email, every figure exportable as CSV
Who gets the most from this
Right for you if
- Owners ask how many machines the fleet really needs
- You rent machines while owned ones sit in the yard
- Hours come from timesheets or hour meter photos today
Look elsewhere if
- Machines are not connected and you will not add gateways or feeds
- You want a one-time answer with a recommendation; the right-sizing audit fits better
Example: a demolition contractor in Pueblo
A demolition and excavation contractor in Pueblo runs 85 machines: excavators with breakers and shears, skid steers, loaders and a pair of dozers. The owner suspected too many skid steers but had only timesheets to go on. After go-live, the Monday report sets engine hours against five 10-hour days. Of 22 skid steers, 6 averaged under 8 hours a week for the quarter, and the idle ratio on two excavators points to waiting on trucks at a tear-out in Trinidad. The owner sells 4 skid steers and moves 2 to a job that was renting.
Utilization, idle and cost per hour
Utilization rate. Utilization is hours worked divided by hours available. A machine on a job that works five 10-hour days has 50 available hours a week; if its engine ran 20, utilization is 40%. Gytix reads hours from the engine, not a timesheet, and lets you set the calendar per job, so a night paving job and a four-day week are both measured fairly. Whatever definition you pick, keep it the same across the fleet so machines compare.
Idle ratio. Engine hours include time running with nothing to do. Idle ratio is idle hours divided by engine hours: 12 idle hours out of 30 is 40%. On a loader it often means waiting on trucks; on an excavator it can mean the engine ran through lunch. Both burn fuel, add hours toward the next service and wear the engine without moving any dirt.
Cost per hour. On the Shop plan, Gytix adds owning cost (purchase or lease, interest, insurance, depreciation) to operating cost (fuel, repairs, parts, tires or undercarriage) and divides by the hours each machine worked. Repairs and parts come from work orders and fuel from fuel logs; you enter the owning figures once. The result sits beside your rental rate and your bid rate.
Sell, move or rent out. Machines below your benchmark for 30 days land on the underused list with their hours, cost per hour and whether the same type was rented elsewhere in the fleet. The list does not decide for you: a machine waiting on a spring job is not the same as one nobody needs. Before deciding, put your own numbers through the ROI calculator.
Utilization questions, answered
How is equipment utilization rate calculated?
Utilization rate is hours worked divided by hours available. Gytix takes hours worked from the engine and hours available from the working calendar you set per job, such as five 10-hour days. A machine that ran 20 of 50 available hours in a week was 40% utilized for that week.
What is a good utilization rate for heavy equipment?
There is no single right number; it depends on the machine type, the work and how you define available hours. Set a benchmark per type, watch the trend for a quarter, and act on machines that sit well below it. Consistent definitions matter more than the target itself.
What is idle ratio?
Idle ratio is the share of engine hours spent idling: idle hours divided by total engine hours. Gytix reads both from the engine where it reports them. A high idle ratio burns fuel, adds hours toward the next service and often points to waiting on trucks or engines left running at breaks.
Can Gytix calculate owning and operating cost per hour?
Yes, on the Shop plan. It combines owning costs such as payments, insurance and depreciation with operating costs such as fuel, parts and repairs, then divides by the engine hours each machine actually worked, by month or by job.
How is utilization analytics priced?
Utilization reports are part of the Field plan, priced per connected machine, per month, month to month with unlimited users. Owning and operating cost per hour needs the Shop plan. To estimate what idle machines cost your own fleet first, try the ROI calculator. The written quote after a walkthrough on your own fleet gives the exact figure.
Bring us your machine list
Send your fleet list. We will show utilization and cost analytics on your own machines and quote it in writing.