NFI Industries improves ELD compliance with Lytx

NFI Industries is a family-owned, fully integrated North American supply-chain solutions provider with more than 4,200 drivers, and a fleet of more than 3,000 tractors and 12,500 trailers.

NFI is part of a critical network of distributors involved in the timely delivery of essential goods and components throughout the country, a network that ensures the U.S. economy keeps moving ahead. Like many distributors, NFI is regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). With the agency’s recent Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate came a new rule for carriers to assign drive time for every instance a vehicle is moved.

This new requirement added a significant burden to NFI’s 240 logistics coordinators as there were literally thousands of unassigned driving time events generated by NFI’s fleet each month, most of which were yard moves or maintenance trips.

NFI turned to Lytx^® Compliance Services, which has provided the company with compliance solutions since 2004 and has grown alongside NFI over the past decade and a half. After piloting Lytx Compliance Services’ Unassigned Drive Time solution for a month, NFI’s vice president of safety compliance, regulatory and investigations, Lee Robledo, saw significant efficiency gains – enough to roll out the service across its fleet of regulated vehicles.

“We immediately saw improved efficiencies with Lytx Unassigned Drive Time.”

 

- Lee Robledo, Vice President of Safety Compliance, NFI Industries

Adjusting Nimbly to Regulatory Changes

Privately owned by the Brown Family since its founding in 1932, NFI Industries has successfully navigated the changing distribution landscape to become one of the U.S.’s largest supply-chain solutions providers with more than 50 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space, 13,100 associates, and $2 billion in annual revenue.

NFI has a reputation within the industry for being ahead of the curve when it comes to adopting new technologies to gain efficiencies, reduce worker injuries, and improve compliance. As a result, the company maintains among the best CSA scores in the business and, as a result, continues to grow and earn new business.

When the FMCSA’s ELD mandate created additional rules for carriers, NFI turned to Lytx Compliance Services, its go-to compliance solution since 2004, to help it stay on top of the new regulations.

“When we first found Lytx, it was like a godsend,” Robledo said. “At the time, our main objective was to have more timely audits so we could better manage our hours of service and be more compliant with FMCSA. We’ve been Lytx’s partner ever since.”

Most recently, NFI needed a solution to handle unassigned driving time at its various freight terminals across the country. The new rule requires carriers to assign a driver each time a vehicle is moved. But often, the company’s logistics coordinators did not know whether it was a driver or “spotter” at the terminal moving a truck or payload between trailer pick-ups and drops. Other times, vehicles would be moved for maintenance without the driver logging in. Each month, NFI had thousands of such moves that needed to be assigned.

“When we found out Lytx was working on a solution, it was a no brainer,” said Julie Jones, NFI’s director of safety compliance. “Anytime Lytx comes out with a new service, we jump at the opportunity to see how we can use it to improve compliance.”

The result: “Our managers saw an immediate impact after we rolled out Lytx’s Unassigned Drive Time service,” Jones said. “It’s saved each of them roughly two hours per day by not having to spend time investigating unassigned events and associating them with the appropriate drivers. It’s been invaluable.”

Staying on top of unassigned drive time and other compliance requirements has helped reduce the risk of regulatory fines and litigation exposure. With NFI’s full deployment of Lytx Compliance Services’ proactive alerts, detailed reporting, and automated workflows, NFI has saved valuable time and is able to monitor potential violations in real time.

The ability to proactively address issues amid regulatory and market changes has helped NFI maintain an exemplary safety record over the years. 

“Over the last decade and a half, we’ve been able to change swiftly and adapt to new conditions and requirements. Throughout those years, Lytx has helped us be more efficient by taking disparate data, organizing it, and pushing it back to us in ways that help us act quickly,” said Robledo.

This has been especially helpful as NFI grew and acquired additional fleets, some with relatively poor CSA scores.

“We recently acquired a company that didn’t have the best CSA scores,” Jones said. “We knew we needed to focus on our scores to make sure they remained in good standing.”

By integrating Lytx Compliance Services, NFI is able to get visibility into vehicles across its fleet, including the newly acquired fleet.

“This has allowed us to address red flags, such as an HOS violation, immediately and proactively, giving us the chance to correct the violation,” Robledo explained. “And if we were to be audited, having Lytx Compliance Services in place gives us greater credibility with the auditor, because it shows we have systems in place to help us stay within compliance. So from an overall compliance standpoint, this service is very important to us.”