Minnesota contractors are entering an opportunity‑rich construction season driven by Minnesota Department of Transportation programs, federally funded Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) projects, surging data center development and more.
With more opportunity comes more competition — and county officials and developers want pricing certainty and confidence that contractors can deliver without unexpected costs.
Contractors who can manage fuel usage, validate production rates and document performance gain a clear advantage at bid time. This season, consider five steps contractors can take to track and analyze machine data to submit more competitive bids.
1. Understand Project Opportunities — and Build the Right Fleet
Contractors pursuing MnDOT, utility, broadband or site prep work should consider rental and rental‑purchase strategies to stay flexible as workloads ramp up or down.
Renting equipment with grade control, telematics and fuel reporting gives contractors immediate access to technology without long‑term capital risk. Rental‑purchase options also create a path to ownership as workloads stabilize.
When machines are right‑sized and connected with grade control and fleet management software, contractors can reduce passes, control fuel use and lower job costs before bids are submitted.
2. Connect Key Production Machines to John Deere Operations Center
When machines are connected to the Operations Center, fleet managers gain access to reports, alerts and insights that support better planning and execution. With support from RDO team members, contractors can use this data to track utilization, productivity, benchmarking, uptime and maintenance planning — all from a single platform even when contractors run a mixed fleet.
3. Track Production Hours and Fuel on Every Job Site
Instead of relying on estimates, contractors can use historical machine data to build more accurate bids while protecting margins. RDO team members can help set up alerts and reports to support maintenance planning, uptime management and bid documentation.
"Reporting machine data gives contractors a level of accountability and visibility they've never had before," said Larry Herman Jr., RDO Equipment Co.'s telematics manager. "When you understand how machines performed, you can plan smarter for the next job."
4. Pair Machine Data With a Trusted Service and Parts Partner
Owners increasingly value responsible bids that account for maintenance and service — not just the lowest price. Proactive parts planning, regional technician access and fast service response help contractors maintain schedules and reduce risk.
Contractors who partner with RDO's connected support team add another layer of protection.
"Our team identified an 850L dozer throwing low coolant pressure codes and alerted the local store," Herman Jr. said. "After contacting the customer, the team inspected the machine and found a hole blown through the coolant reservoir."
John Deere's Machine Health Alerts allow teams to address problems before they become failures — helping contractors demonstrate reliability and protect project timelines and budgets.
5. Use Production Data and Grade Control to Discover Savings
By comparing fuel usage, production rates and utilization across machines, contractors can uncover opportunities to improve efficiency. One Minnesota contractor — Westlund Excavating — used machine data and grade control to track fuel performance across its dozer fleet.
"On average, our X-Tier dozers and loaders burn about 50 percent less fuel than our other machines," said Steve Westlund, the company's owner who has worked with RDO for more than a decade. "In today's fuel market, that's a savings that can't be ignored."
SmartGrade uses GNSS and 2D or 3D models to guide machines automatically on grade. Combined with fuel and production data, this insight helps contractors reduce rework, lower weekly costs and improve bid confidence.
"My operators say that 850 X crawler dozer equipped with 3D grade control makes their job easier," Westlund said. "Every pass, they know exactly how much dirt they are moving with their dozer."
SmartGrade can work with a surveying tool like those offered by Topcon Positioning Systems to create real-time job site models. This information, plus a record of production hours and fuel usage, can reveal operational decisions that reduce weekly building costs.
Measure, Plan, Bid to Win
By combining connected equipment, machine control, dealer support and fleet data through tools like the Operations Center, contractors can manage costs, reduce risk and submit more informed bids based on current building costs. Every completed project becomes data for the next opportunity — and that data can be the difference between placing second and winning the job.
For more information, visit rdoequipment.com/.
(Article reprinted with permission from RDO Equipment Co.)
