The Challenge
Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, needed a better way to communicate with its large workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditional methods like email and social media were ineffective, and their internal communications app—built on an aging proprietary platform—was nearing end-of-life. A modern, mobile-first solution was required to ensure timely, centralized, and reliable communication during a time of critical disruption.
The Solution
TechArk developed a custom mobile app called “NNS to Go,” available on iOS and Android, to serve as the company’s internal communication hub. Built using WordPress, Laravel, and native mobile development frameworks, the app was designed to deliver essential updates quickly and intuitively. It includes push notifications, scheduled content publishing, media-rich content delivery, and the ability to unpublish time-sensitive updates—giving the communications team full control over message timing and relevance.
Performance Snapshot
- Custom iOS + Android app built on WordPress + Laravel frameworks
- Push notifications enabled for real-time updates
- Media-rich content delivery for enhanced engagement
- Scheduled publishing + unpublishing of time-sensitive messages
- Launched on deadline during the COVID-19 pandemic
The Results
- Centralized communication across a large, distributed workforce
- Improved employee engagement and access to real-time information
- A scalable mobile solution that replaced an obsolete internal app
- Ensuring workforce connection during a time of critical disruption
