REGULATORY COMPLIANCE & CERTIFICATION

Compliance is not
a document.
It is an architecture.

Regulated industries spend weeks assembling compliance packages from scattered PLM data. Sentinel renders them automatically from the digital thread — because every decision, approval, and verification already exists in the product knowledge graph.

LIVE COMPLIANCE STATUS — PROGRAM AX-7200
COMPLIANT
FDA 21 CFR Part 11 — Electronic Records & Signatures
128 e-signatures captured · Immutable audit trail active · All records ALCOA+ validated
COMPLIANT
AS9100D Rev D — Aerospace Quality Management
FAI packages auto-generated for 47 first articles · Configuration management verified
COMPLIANT
ISO 13485:2016 — Medical Device Quality Systems
Design History File rendered in 3 days · Risk management file complete per ISO 14971
REVIEW
ITAR/EAR — Export Control Compliance
3 controlled technical data packages pending classification · 2 TAA reviews in progress
Next audit readiness: 97.3% — 4 open items remaining (est. closure: 6 days)
Open items: RoHS declaration pending for PN-6180 supplier · ITAR classification review for ECO-2024-1847 · DHF section 7.3 verification linkage refresh · FAI balloon 23 dimensional data upload
AUDIT-READY
THE COMPLIANCE BURDEN

Regulated industries spend more time proving compliance than achieving it.

The documentation burden is not the cost of doing business — it is the cost of doing compliance wrong.

80%
Reduction in compliance documentation effort achievable through digital thread automation
AXIOM DEPLOYMENT DATA
93%
Of highly regulated companies plan to adopt or already use digital validation solutions
KNEAT STATE OF VALIDATION 2025
40%
Reduction in compliance costs achieved by firms using AI-based validation and e-record automation
FDA GUIDELINES ANALYSIS 2026
2026
FDA requires medical device manufacturers to meet ISO 13485 standards — elevating documentation and design control expectations
FDA QMSR MANDATE

In regulated industries, an engineering change is not just a design decision — it is a compliance event. FDA requires traceable design history files. AS9100D demands controlled configuration management. IATF 16949 mandates production part approval documentation. ITAR restricts which personnel can even view certain changes. In traditional PLM, assembling the evidence takes weeks — someone extracts documents, compiles evidence, and builds a submission package from scattered data. Sentinel makes compliance a property of the architecture, not a burden on the team.

Because every requirement, design decision, engineering change, verification result, and approval signature already exists in the Axiom digital thread, compliance packages are not assembled — they are rendered from data that is already governed. The Design History File is not a document you build; it is a view of the product knowledge graph. The First Article Inspection package is not a binder you compile; it is a query against the verification matrix. Compliance is not something you do after engineering. It is something that happens because of how engineering is done.

WHY SENTINEL

Five capabilities that transform compliance from burden to byproduct.

Compliance as Architecture
Regulatory requirements are embedded in the data model — not bolted on as documentation workflows. Every action in Axiom is automatically compliant because the system enforces audit trails, electronic signatures, and access controls by design.
Day-1 compliance with FDA, AS9100D, IATF 16949, and ISO 13485
Automated Package Generation
Design History Files, First Article Inspection packages, PPAP submissions, and export control documentation generated automatically from the digital thread. Not assembled from documents — rendered from governed product data.
Compliance packages generated in days, not weeks
Immutable Audit Trail
Every action is logged with who, what, when, and why — in a tamper-proof record that cannot be modified, deleted, or disabled. Computer-generated timestamps. Automatic capture. No human intervention possible in the audit record.
ALCOA+ compliant audit trail: attributable, legible, contemporaneous, original, accurate
Export Control Enforcement
ITAR and EAR controlled technical data is automatically restricted based on personnel citizenship, facility clearance, and program authorization. Access attempts by non-authorized users are blocked and logged — not just warned.
ITAR/EAR access control enforced at the data layer, not the perimeter
Continuous Audit Readiness
Not "audit preparation" — continuous audit readiness. A readiness score tracks open compliance items in real time. When the auditor arrives, the system is ready because it was always ready — not because someone spent three weeks preparing.
Audit readiness score maintained in real time with gap-to-closure tracking
COMPLIANCE INTELLIGENCE ENGINES

Eight engines. Every record governed.

From electronic signatures through export control to substance compliance — Sentinel embeds regulatory governance into every action in the product lifecycle.

01
Compliance Framework Library
FDA 21 CFR Part 11 · AS9100D · IATF 16949 · ISO 13485 · DO-178C · IEC 62304 · EU MDR/IVDR
Different industries face different regulatory frameworks — but the underlying compliance mechanics are remarkably consistent: controlled records, traceable decisions, verified outcomes, and auditable evidence. Sentinel ships with pre-configured compliance framework templates for every major regulatory standard in discrete manufacturing. Each framework defines the required record types, signature workflows, retention policies, and submission formats specific to that standard. When a product program is assigned a compliance framework, Sentinel automatically configures the governance rules: which actions require electronic signatures, which records must be retained, which access controls must be enforced, and which submission packages must be generated.
Pre-configured frameworks — FDA 21 CFR Part 11 (electronic records), FDA QSR/QMSR (design controls), AS9100D (aerospace quality), IATF 16949 (automotive quality), ISO 13485 (medical devices), DO-178C (airborne software), IEC 62304 (medical software), and EU MDR/IVDR (European medical devices)
Multi-framework programs — products subject to multiple regulatory frameworks (e.g., a medical device sold in both US FDA and EU MDR markets) receive unified governance that satisfies all applicable requirements simultaneously
Automatic rule activation — when a framework is assigned to a program, Sentinel activates the corresponding signature requirements, retention policies, access controls, and submission templates. No manual configuration of individual governance rules
Regulatory change tracking — Sentinel monitors regulatory updates (e.g., the 2025 EU Annex 11 revision, FDA's September 2025 CSA guidance) and flags programs whose compliance configurations may need updating based on changed regulatory requirements
8+
Regulatory frameworks pre-configured
Multi
Framework programs with unified governance
Auto
Rule activation on framework assignment
Track
Regulatory change monitoring and alerting
02
Electronic Signature & 21 CFR Part 11
Unique signer identification · Intent capture · Tamper-evident timestamps · Biometric & MFA support
Electronic signatures are the foundation of paperless compliance — and getting them wrong is the most common FDA citation in data integrity audits. Shared passwords, generic "System Administrator" user accounts, and disabled audit trails are cited repeatedly in FDA Warning Letters. Sentinel implements electronic signatures that fully comply with 21 CFR Part 11 Subpart C: unique signer identification with multi-factor authentication, explicit intent capture (author, reviewer, approver), cryptographic tamper-evident timestamps, and immutable signature records that cannot be altered or deleted. Every signature captures who signed, when they signed, what they signed, why they signed (intent statement), and the exact version of the document they reviewed.
Unique signer identification — every user account is unique, individually credentialed, and verified. No shared accounts. No generic "admin" logins. Multi-factor authentication (password + biometric or token) enforced for signature actions
Intent capture — each signature records the signer's role and intent: "authored," "reviewed," "approved," "verified," or "witnessed." The signing intent is captured at the moment of signature, not inferred after the fact
Tamper-evident timestamps — cryptographic timestamps generated by the system (not the user's local clock) ensure temporal integrity. Any attempt to modify a signed record invalidates the signature and generates an alert
Signature manifest — for every signed record, Sentinel maintains a complete signature manifest: signer identity, credential verification method, intent statement, timestamp, document hash, and version identifier. Manifest is immutable and instantly retrievable for audit
Part 11
Full 21 CFR Part 11 Subpart C compliance
MFA
Multi-factor authentication enforced
Zero
Shared accounts or generic credentials
Crypto
Tamper-evident timestamp protection
03
Immutable Audit Trail Engine
Computer-generated records · Always-on · Tamper-proof · ALCOA+ validated · Periodic review
The audit trail is the single most scrutinized element in any FDA inspection. Disabled audit trails, unreviewed audit logs, and shared user credentials appear in Warning Letters with alarming regularity. Sentinel's audit trail is not a feature that can be turned off. It is a structural property of the database architecture — every write operation to any governed record automatically generates an immutable audit entry. The entry captures who performed the action, what exactly changed (field-level granularity), when it occurred (system-generated timestamp), and why (reason-for-change captured at the point of action). Audit trails are always on, always locked, and always available for regulatory review without export or transformation.
Always-on, non-disableable — the audit trail cannot be turned off, paused, or configured to skip certain record types. It is embedded in the database write layer. Every governed action generates an audit entry — period
Field-level change capture — does not merely log "record modified." Captures the specific field that changed, the previous value, the new value, the user who made the change, and the reason code. Enables complete reconstruction of any record's history
ALCOA+ validation — every audit entry is Attributable (tied to a unique user), Legible (human-readable with full context), Contemporaneous (captured at the time of action), Original (system-generated, not user-entered), Accurate (cryptographically verified), Complete, Consistent, Enduring, and Available
Automated periodic review — regulatory frameworks increasingly require periodic review of audit trails. Sentinel generates scheduled review reports highlighting unusual patterns: after-hours modifications, bulk changes, repeated failed login attempts, or changes made outside normal workflow sequences
Always
On — cannot be disabled or paused
Field
Level change capture (previous → new value)
ALCOA+
Full data integrity principles validated
Auto
Periodic review with anomaly detection
04
Design History File Generator
FDA DHF auto-rendering · Design input/output linkage · V&V evidence assembly · Submission formatting
The Design History File is the FDA's master record of how a medical device was designed, verified, and validated. Assembling it manually takes an average of 6 weeks — quality engineers extract change records, cross-reference requirements, compile verification evidence, and build traceability matrices in Word and Excel. Sentinel generates the complete DHF automatically from the digital thread. Because every design input (requirement) traces to its design output (specification), every design output traces to its verification method (test, analysis, inspection), and every verification method traces to its evidence (test report, simulation result, inspection record), the DHF is not a document you assemble — it is a view of the product knowledge graph rendered in submission format.
Auto-rendered from digital thread — the DHF is generated by querying the Axiom knowledge graph, not by assembling documents. Design inputs, design outputs, verification records, validation evidence, change history, and risk management are all extracted from governed data
Section 7.3 compliance structure — output organized per ISO 13485:2016 section 7.3 requirements: design planning, design inputs, design outputs, design review, design verification, design validation, design transfer, and design changes
Risk management integration — ISO 14971 risk management artifacts (hazard analysis, risk evaluation, risk control, residual risk assessment) linked to the DHF through the knowledge graph. Risk controls trace to design features, and design features trace to verification evidence
Incremental generation — the DHF updates incrementally as the design evolves. Each design review milestone generates a snapshot. The final submission package is the accumulation of all milestone snapshots — not a from-scratch assembly at the end of the program
3 days
DHF generation (down from 6 weeks)
7.3
ISO 13485 section structure compliance
14971
Risk management file integrated
Auto
Incremental updates at every milestone
05
First Article Inspection Packaging
AS9102 form generation · Balloon drawing linkage · Dimensional data capture · Supplier FAI coordination
First Article Inspection is the aerospace industry's definitive proof that a manufactured part conforms to its design specification. The FAI package is the single most labor-intensive compliance deliverable in AS9100D. It requires a ballooned drawing identifying every inspectable characteristic, dimensional measurement data for each balloon, material certifications, process approvals, and special process qualification records — all cross-referenced and compiled into AS9102 format. Sentinel generates the FAI package by linking drawing characteristics (from Axiom's CAD management) to dimensional measurement data (from CMM or inspection systems), material certifications (from supplier quality records), and process qualifications (from manufacturing records) — assembling the complete AS9102 package automatically.
AS9102 form auto-generation — Forms 1 (Part Number Accountability), 2 (Product Accountability – Raw Material/Special Processes), and 3 (Characteristic Accountability, Verification, and Compatibility) generated from governed data. No manual form filling
Balloon-to-measurement linkage — each ballooned characteristic on the drawing links to its dimensional measurement result from CMM, optical, or manual inspection. Pass/fail evaluation against drawing tolerance performed automatically
Material certification integration — material test reports and mill certifications from suppliers are linked to the BOM components they certify. Sentinel verifies that material properties meet specification requirements and flags non-conformances
Supplier FAI coordination — for supplied components requiring FAI, Sentinel manages the supplier's FAI submission through the Forge supplier portal. Tracks submission status, reviews dimensional data, and maintains the FAI record in the quality system
AS9102
Forms 1, 2, 3 auto-generated
Auto
Balloon-to-measurement pass/fail evaluation
Linked
Material certs to BOM to specification
Portal
Supplier FAI submission tracking
06
ITAR/EAR Export Control
Citizenship-based access · Technical data classification · TAA management · Violation prevention
Export control violations carry criminal penalties — including imprisonment. ITAR and EAR compliance is not a documentation exercise; it is an access control enforcement requirement. Controlled technical data must be restricted to authorized US persons (for ITAR) or to personnel authorized under specific export licenses (for EAR). Traditional PLM systems rely on folder-level permissions that are configured once and rarely audited. Sentinel enforces export control at the data layer: every technical data package is classified by USML category or ECC, and access is granted or denied based on the user's citizenship, security clearance, program authorization, and applicable export license — evaluated in real time at every access attempt.
Citizenship-based access enforcement — user profiles include verified citizenship and export authorization status. Access to ITAR-controlled data is denied to non-US persons unless a specific TAA or export license covers the access. Enforcement is automatic and logged
Technical data classification — every document, drawing, specification, and data package is classified by USML category (for ITAR) or ECCN (for EAR). Classification drives access rules and export license requirements. Unclassified data is flagged for review
TAA and license management — Technical Assistance Agreements, Manufacturing License Agreements, and export licenses are managed as governed objects with expiration tracking, scope definitions, and authorized recipient lists. Access automatically revokes when a TAA expires
Violation prevention and logging — every access attempt to controlled data is logged. Unauthorized attempts are blocked, logged with the attempted user's identity and the data they attempted to access, and escalated to the Empowered Official automatically
ITAR
USML category classification and access control
EAR
ECCN classification with license management
Real-time
Citizenship-based access evaluation per request
Auto
TAA expiration tracking and access revocation
07
Substance & Material Compliance
RoHS · REACH · TSCA · Proposition 65 · Conflict minerals · Material declaration management
Environmental and substance compliance is an increasingly complex regulatory landscape — and the data required to prove compliance flows upward through the BOM from every component supplier. RoHS restricts hazardous substances in electronics. REACH requires registration of chemical substances in Europe. TSCA governs chemical substances in the US. California's Proposition 65 requires warnings for products containing listed chemicals. Conflict mineral regulations require supply chain due diligence. Sentinel manages substance compliance through the BOM: every component carries material declaration data from its supplier, aggregated upward through multi-level BOM roll-ups to produce product-level compliance declarations.
BOM-integrated material declarations — every component in the BOM carries substance declaration data (IPC 1752A/IPC 1754 format) from its supplier. Declarations are linked to the specific BOM revision and supplier lot, ensuring accuracy across engineering changes
Multi-regulation screening — each component's substance data is screened simultaneously against RoHS, REACH SVHC, TSCA, Proposition 65, and conflict mineral restricted substance lists. Non-compliant components flagged before they enter the design
Product-level roll-up — substance data aggregates from component level through sub-assembly to finished product, generating product-level compliance declarations for each target market and regulation. One BOM, multiple compliance declarations
Supplier declaration management — material declaration requests sent to suppliers through the Forge supplier portal with structured response templates. Delinquent suppliers tracked and escalated. Declaration data validated against known material compositions
5+
Substance regulations screened simultaneously
BOM
Integrated material declaration at every level
Auto
Product-level compliance roll-up from components
Portal
Supplier declaration request and tracking
08
Audit Readiness Intelligence
Readiness scoring · Gap-to-closure tracking · Mock audit simulation · Inspector portal
The worst time to discover a compliance gap is during an audit. The best time is three months before the audit, when there is still time to close it. Sentinel's Audit Readiness Intelligence engine continuously monitors every compliance dimension — signature completeness, audit trail integrity, traceability coverage, documentation currency, export control compliance, and substance declaration status — and aggregates them into a single readiness score. Open items are tracked with estimated closure timelines. Trend analysis shows whether readiness is improving or deteriorating. Mock audit simulations exercise the same queries an auditor would run, surfacing weaknesses before the real inspection arrives.
Continuous readiness scoring — a composite readiness score (0-100%) aggregates compliance metrics across all applicable frameworks. Sub-scores for each framework dimension (signatures, audit trails, traceability, documentation, access control) enable targeted remediation
Gap-to-closure tracking — every open compliance item has an assigned owner, estimated closure date, and priority level. Dashboard shows aging items, overdue closures, and items approaching regulatory deadlines
Mock audit simulation — Sentinel runs the same queries an FDA, AS9100, or IATF auditor would execute: "show me the design history for product X," "trace requirement Y to its verification evidence," "show me the audit trail for change Z." Gaps in the response are flagged for remediation
Inspector data room — when an auditor arrives, Sentinel provides a secure, read-only data room with pre-configured views of all compliance-relevant data. The auditor navigates the product knowledge graph directly — no intermediary needed to "find documents"
Score
Continuous readiness (0-100%) with sub-dimensions
Mock
Audit simulation with gap detection
Track
Gap-to-closure with aging and deadlines
Portal
Secure inspector data room for audit day
DEPLOYMENT EVIDENCE

Three regulated manufacturers. Compliance transformed.

MEDICAL DEVICES · FDA CLASS III
Cardiac device manufacturer eliminates two consecutive FDA citations on design controls
47 product families · 21 CFR Part 11 · ISO 13485 · FDA QSR/QMSR
A cardiac rhythm management device manufacturer had received FDA citations for inadequate design control traceability in two consecutive inspections. Quality engineers spent 40% of their time assembling compliance documentation rather than improving quality. After deploying Sentinel, the Design History File generator rendered complete DHFs in 3 days instead of 6 weeks. The immutable audit trail eliminated the data integrity concerns that had driven previous citations. Electronic signatures with MFA replaced the shared-credential system that auditors had flagged. The next FDA inspection resulted in zero findings on design controls — the lead auditor noted it was the most comprehensive traceability system she had reviewed.
Zero
FDA findings (after 2 prior citations)
93%
DHF generation time reduction
40%→8%
QE time on documentation
AEROSPACE · DEFENSE · ITAR CONTROLLED
Defense contractor prevents $4.2M ITAR violation with automated access control enforcement
ITAR Category VIII · 14 TAAs active · 340 cleared personnel · 3 international facilities
A defense avionics manufacturer operating across US and international facilities had been managing ITAR compliance through folder-level permissions in their legacy PLM system — permissions that were reviewed annually and frequently outdated. An internal audit revealed that 23 non-US-person employees at an international facility had access to ITAR-controlled technical data packages without TAA coverage — a potential violation carrying penalties up to $500K per incident. After deploying Sentinel, citizenship-based access enforcement evaluated every data access request in real time against the user's authorization status, active TAAs, and export license scope. The 23 unauthorized access paths were blocked immediately. TAA expiration tracking automatically revokes access when agreements expire, preventing future exposure.
23
Unauthorized access paths blocked
$4.2M
Potential violation liability prevented
Real-time
Access evaluation per data request
AUTOMOTIVE · IATF 16949 · GLOBAL TIER-1
Global automotive supplier achieves first-time PPAP approval rate of 98% across 6 OEM customers
6 OEM programs · 2,400 PPAP submissions annually · 12 manufacturing plants
A global Tier-1 automotive supplier managing 2,400 PPAP submissions annually across 6 OEM customers was achieving only an 71% first-time approval rate — with 29% of submissions rejected for missing documentation, inconsistent data, or incomplete traceability. Each rejection triggered a 4-6 week resubmission cycle that delayed production launch. Sentinel's automated PPAP generation assembled complete submission packages from governed product data: control plans linked to BOM characteristics, measurement system analyses linked to inspection equipment records, and initial process studies linked to manufacturing run data. First-time approval rate improved to 98% within two submission cycles. The 4-6 week resubmission burden was nearly eliminated.
98%
First-time PPAP approval (up from 71%)
2,400
Annual submissions governed
~Zero
Resubmission burden remaining

"The FDA auditor asked me to show her the design history for our newest implantable device. In our old system, that request would have started a six-week documentation exercise. In Sentinel, I pressed a button and the complete DHF rendered in front of her — design inputs traced to design outputs, verification methods linked to evidence, every change documented with electronic signatures. She paused, looked at me, and said 'this is how it should work everywhere.' Zero findings for the first time in three inspections."

VP of Quality & Regulatory Affairs
CLASS III CARDIAC DEVICE MANUFACTURER · FDA 21 CFR PART 11 · ISO 13485

"We discovered twenty-three non-US-person employees had access to ITAR-controlled technical data without TAA coverage. Twenty-three potential violations at up to five hundred thousand dollars each. Sentinel blocked every unauthorized access path within the first hour of deployment. The system evaluates citizenship, clearance, and TAA scope on every single data access request. Not annually. Not quarterly. Every request. That is the difference between perimeter security and data-layer enforcement."

Empowered Official & Director of Export Compliance
DEFENSE AVIONICS · ITAR CATEGORY VIII · 3 INTERNATIONAL FACILITIES

Stop preparing
for audits.
Start being ready.

Assign your regulatory frameworks. Watch Sentinel configure governance rules, activate audit trails, and compute your readiness score — in minutes, not months.

Or contact the Sentinel compliance team at sentinel@brindwell.com