Fortescue launches mobile strategy and boosts dev productivity by 30%

Challenge

From inflexibility to low-code agility

Fortescue’s low-code journey began when the company decided to replace an outdated rail rule book mobile app, which was costly to maintain and time-consuming to update.

Fortescue sought a low-code platform to rewrite the mobile app quickly and gain the agility to change it as needed. The team investigated other platforms, but found that they still didn’t deliver on the speed and flexibility that the team needed. Then, they found OutSystems.

The platform’s attractive licensing, advanced UX/UI capabilities, and development speed made the cut. As a pilot, the team rebuilt the mobile app again, this time significantly faster and simpler. The new mobile app is an “at-your-fingertips” digital library designed to provide rapid access to electronic versions of departmental manuals, Safety Work Instructions (SWIs), and more. Initially built for one department (rail) for their rule book, the app now serves 75 business areas. With OutSystems, a single developer was able to create the app in just 6 months.

Solution

Employee safety is the #1 priority

Since Fortescue adopted OutSystems, it has built about 25 apps, including the digitalisation of hundreds of forms. The team has tried to accomplish this with previous development platforms, but found that they would often spend 2+ weeks digitalising a single form. With OutSystems, that time was cut down to a single hour.

However, the most critical app the team developed is Fortescue ONE, an app designed to support employees assigned to work in remote locations.

Fortescue ONE is a large app aggregating several other apps built with OutSystems. Features include news notifications, the ability to report facility issues, alerts about natural disasters or crises in the area, and access to work schedules, along with information on the responsible leaders and supervisors for each shift.

Triggered by an industry report and ensuing guidance on supporting employees, the app also includes an emergency duress module that users can activate if they ever feel unsafe and need assistance.

If users feel endangered, they can discreetly send a message, and an emergency response team will be dispatched to their location. The app even integrates with Google Maps, allowing emergency response teams to more accurately get to the user’s location to escort them to safety. Meanwhile, users can use the app to track the location of the emergency responder to see how close they are - revolutionizing emergency response at Fortescue.

Results

25 applications, 100 forms, and 53 modules developed over three years

Today, OutSystems is Fortescue’s go-to platform for mobile development.

Fortescue ONE is used by 5K users monthly and has been well received by both internal and external stakeholders. Many village residents have shared that the app is a welcome addition to their day-to-day lives, while internal stakeholders see it as a massive asset to the business, which can now support remote workers like never before.

Over the past three years, the company has developed 25 applications, 100 forms, and 53 modules. “When we look at the benefits of these solutions, they’ve resulted in efficiency gains, cost savings, increased productivity, enhanced visibility, paperless processes and risk reduction,” said Fortescue.

Fortescue has also seen an improvement of around 30% in developer productivity. An app that would take 3-6 months to deliver previously can now be done in just one and a half months.

Thanks to OutSystems, the team is able to build value-driven apps that their customers want to use, made accessible anywhere on any device.