Growing from construction telematics to job site intelligence

As contractors face tighter margins, labour shortages, and increasingly complex projects, telematics data has become the foundation for a new generation of job site intelligence tools. While machine location, engine hours, and utilization remain important, contractors now require real-time visibility into productivity, costs, workflows, and performance across the entire operation. That shift is behind John Deere's recent acquisitions of Virtual Superintendent and Tenna. Together, the platforms move beyond traditional fleet tracking toward operational analytics, productivity monitoring, and mixed-fleet asset management. Jonny Spendlove, manager of precision construction product management at John Deere, says the strategy reflects a broader view of the company's role in construction. "Deere fundamentally is a job site company," says Spendlove. "We're focused on helping customers across the entire job site. And that goes way beyond machines. It goes way beyond yellow iron." John Deere's construction technologies at a glance Tenna is a fleet, asset, maintenance, safety, and compliance platform designed for construction and earthmoving contractors. The system tracks equipment and non-powered assets across mixed fleets, integrating data from OEM telematics systems or Tenna-installed hardware. Typical users include fleet managers, dispatchers, safety leaders, and parts managers who use the platform to monitor utilization, schedule equipment, manage maintenance workflows, track compliance documentation, and oversee inventory. By consolidating fleet and asset information into a single platform, Tenna helps contractors coordinate resources across multiple job sites and improve operational efficiency. Virtual Superintendent is an operations management platform that uses telematics data and automated workflow tracking to measure productivity and job costs in near real-time. Operators clock into machines or job functions, while site supervisors and foremen monitor production activities as they occur. The system automatically tracks activities such as loading cycles, hauling, and completed work tasks, connecting operational performance to project costs and productivity outcomes. Real-time dashboards allow superintendents, project managers, executives, and business owners to monitor job progress, review historical performance, and identify bottlenecks before they impact profitability.