How a Federally Funded R&D Center Saves Countless Hours with a Digital Thread

A Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) that manufactures demonstrative hardware for critical applications could not properly share data across siloed departments. It successfully implemented Aras Innovator®️ as a centralized digital thread and now sees significantly faster report generation, better data interoperability, and compatibility with emerging AI technologies.

Pain Points: Wasted time and resources due to siloed data

One of Aras’ customers, a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), manufactures advanced technology for critical applications such as biotechnology, aerospace, and defense. It works closely with the US Department of Defense to solve pressing challenges with cutting-edge technology. This FFRDC has an engineering division that creates demonstrative hardware, including the technology’s concept development, design, simulation, and fabrication.

In recent years, increasing customer demands have forced the FFRDC to implement more complex systems and increasingly aggressive performance targets — all with smaller budgets and compressed timelines. To meet these challenges and do “more with less,” the FFRDC evaluated its existing processes and realized it needed an updated method for storing and sharing product information.

To date, the engineering groups within the FFRDC have each used their own disparate tools to gather and use information, making it difficult for different teams to access the data needed for success. Data interoperability was also limited, as the teams had to continuously convert model types across the product lifecycle.

“Sometimes it took three days to get an answer to a simple question…That’s three days you’re adding to the life of your program…Sometimes it took them about 13 different emails or communication attempts to people across the organization to get the answers…a lot of times people didn’t have the right answers.”

Mechanical engineering lead at the FFRDC

The FFRDC realized these issues were rooted in a mindset problem: the teams weren’t thinking of their work as interconnected across the product’s lifecycle. This perspective caused siloes of data, delays in decision-making, repeated recreation of data, and mistrust because departments couldn’t effectively share the proper information.

The FFRDC’s PLM requirements

The FFRDC needed a centralized platform to facilitate a digital thread for information sharing. The team specifically wanted a solution that would build out a complete “value stream” for the entire product development lifecycle.

The system had to offer real-time data access and configuration management, collaborative cross-domain modeling and simulation, integration with critical business systems, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and CAD models, and compatibility with new technologies (e.g., AI/ML technology).

• Centralized platform accessible to all involved business units
• Real-time data access and configuration management
• Collaborative, cross-domain modeling and simulation
• Integration with key systems
• Ability to work with new technologies over time

How the FFRDC created a centralized digital thread with Aras Innovator

The organization chose Aras Innovator for its end-to-end connectivity and ability to track each of its products and associated digital assets across multiple business units and from within various programs.

The FFRDC successfully implemented a digital thread with Aras Innovator within two years. The team followed a systems engineering approach to facilitate digital connectivity, first prioritizing the connection of models across different domains and teams. It also created a neutral data representation called “technical data packaging” to improve data interoperability across business units.

Today, the team successfully facilitates data management across ERP software, CAD models, and other material and design elements. By consolidating key data across these resources, the organization can generate valuable insights such as verification matrices, highly detailed manufacturing bills of materials (mBOMs), and fabrication information— all at a fraction of the time it took to create these before. In addition, the team can now manage mBOM variants for material substitutions whenever supply chain issues arise.

Results: Better collaboration with a digital thread approach

Since implementing Aras Innovator, the team has integrated over 80 programs and more than 300,000 data connections. This high-level of connectivity has significantly improved change management and reduced the time it takes to update procedures, verify data accuracy, and generate reports. The interconnectedness of the FFRDC’s PLM system also means the team can use new AI technology effectively.

In addition, reliance on system models and digital thread, and elimination of non-structured documents allows FFRDC to be complaint with the DoD (Department of Defense) push towards Digital Engineering as per DoDI 5000.97.

“We’re seeing more and more connectivity between our programs. When we use materials across programs, we can see it. And this is what you need to do AI…you need to think about that digital thread to get there.”

Mechanical engineering lead at the FFRDC