Challenges Echodyne needed to move away from tracking product revisions in spreadsheets to provide their contract manufacturers with a more efficient way to get the right product specifications. They also needed a quality system to obtain AS9100 certification.
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About the company

Headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, Echodyne designs and manufactures advanced commercial radar solutions. By combining its patented metamaterials electronically scanned array (MESA®) technology with advanced software capabilities, Echodyne radars deliver superior sensor performance for intelligent systems and autonomous machines. The data fidelity from Echodyne radars radically enhances situational awareness across a wide range of applications including defense, government, critical infrastructure, advanced air mobility, and security.

AT A GLANCE

Best thing about Arena
Connects PLM and QMS in a secure, cloud-native platform

Bottom-line impact
Helps Echodyne reach their compliance goals and deliver quality products faster

Business challenges

In the early days of the company, Echodyne’s team maintained part numbers and changes via spreadsheets, making it difficult for everyone to keep track of the latest product revisions. A more efficient way was needed for their contract manufacturers (CMs) who relied on accurate information to build products to the right specification.

As demand for their radar products grew significantly within the aerospace and defense community, Echodyne wanted a structured process for managing product information throughout the entire lifecycle and aimed to implement a quality system according to the AS9100 standard. Consequently, they set out to find a secure, cloud-based product lifecycle management (PLM) solution that could help them gain better control of their product and quality information and obtain AS9100 certification.

The solution

Arena PLM for AWS GovCloud is built on a multilayered security framework to safeguard sensitive product information. The system’s robust security controls and protocols help Echodyne comply with AS9100, ITAR, and other defense-related regulations.

By linking quality records (CAPAs, approved supplier lists, SOPs, training, etc.) and associated changes directly to the product bill of materials (BOM), Arena enables Echodyne’s teams and supply chain partners to stay on top of open actions and issues that impact product development.

Change processes and revision controls are automatically applied to items, BOMs, and documents, ensuring that everyone always has access to accurate and up-to-date information. Arena’s automated ECO routings help expedite the review and approval process. Stakeholders can easily compare redlines of product BOMs to see the history of changes between revisions.

To further enhance efficiency and reduce manual errors, team members can configure Arena to place routine quality processes into an automation workflow.

Christopher Brickner, Director of Quality Assurance & Regulatory Compliance, Echodyne

Results

Since deploying Arena, Echodyne has quickly expanded their use of the system. The organization leverages Arena’s intelligent part numbering and BOM management functionality as well as its advanced engineering change management, training management, supplier management, and quality management capabilities. “Having access to all these key functions in one system helps boost our productivity,” stated Brickner.

The entire Echodyne organization benefits from Arena’s advanced functionality:

  • The project management department initiates change orders in Arena. The system is set up to regulate changes based on the product lifecycle stage (i.e., working revision, engineering, pre-production, production, obsolete). Through Arena’s ECO configurations and automated approval routings, the department can release changes quickly.
  • The quality team uses Arena to document and track nonconformances from the manufacturing line and incoming inspections. They also configure Arena to maintain CAPAs that are tied to their suppliers. This closed-loop traceability enhances visibility across the organization and reduces audit risks.
  • All suppliers are qualified through Arena’s Supplier module. A listing of sourced parts and materials from each supplier is maintained in the supplier items section to help speed procurement.
  • Engineering documents and tracks environmental compliance for each part by indicating whether it meets RoHS, REACH, and other applicable requirements.
  • HR uses the Arena Training module to maintain all the company policies, standard operating procedures, and work instructions that are included in employee training plans. “We’re able to quickly compile training records and other compliance evidence from Arena and streamline our surveillance audits,” added Brickner.
  • The organization leverages Arena’s prebuilt integration with the Altium eCAD system to import BOMs into Arena and quickly move them along to production. Additionally, they integrate Arena with NetSuite ERP to manage financials, procurement, and inventory. An application programming interface (API) is also used to import inventoried parts into Arena and ensure that those parts are ordered from approved suppliers.

Looking ahead, Echodyne will integrate Arena with a manufacturing execution system (MES) where they can make their device history record (DHR) and assembly instructions readily accessible to production teams.

With Arena now an integral part of Echodyne’s day-to-day operations, they’re able to successfully pass regulatory audits and deliver high-performance radar solutions that fulfill the needs of their customers.

Christopher Brickner, Director of Quality Assurance & Regulatory Compliance, Echodyne