What is AVEVA PI Vision?
PI Vision is a powerful data visualization tool designed for monitoring and analyzing operational data in real-time. It allows users to create dynamic, interactive graphics that provide insights into various aspects of industrial processes. Here's a description of some key features and graphics available in PI Vision:
Trend Displays: Trend displays provide a visual representation of time-series data, allowing users to track trends, anomalies, and patterns over time. Users can overlay multiple data streams, zoom in on specific time periods, and customize display options to suit their needs.
Asset Hierarchies: PI Vision supports asset hierarchies, enabling users to organize and navigate through complex industrial systems more effectively. Users can create hierarchical structures that reflect the physical layout of their assets, making it easier to locate and analyze data related to specific equipment or areas.
Gauges and Meters: Gauges and meters provide a concise snapshot of key performance indicators (KPIs) or process variables. Users can configure these graphics to display current values, set thresholds for alarm conditions, and visualize data in a clear and intuitive manner.
Tables and Grids: Tables and grids offer a tabular view of data, allowing users to inspect individual data points, perform calculations, and sort/filter data based on specific criteria. This format is useful for displaying large datasets or comparing multiple variables side by side.
Event Frames: Event frames allow users to visually represent periods of interest or significant events within a dataset. Users can define event criteria based on specific conditions or thresholds, and PI Vision will automatically generate event frames to highlight these occurrences in the visualization.
Custom Symbols and Shapes: PI Vision supports custom symbols and shapes, giving users the flexibility to create tailored graphics that meet their unique requirements. Users can import custom images, icons, or SVG files to enhance the visual representation of their data.
Annotations and Markers: Annotations and markers enable users to add contextual information to their graphics, such as labels, comments, or annotations. This feature allows users to provide additional context or insights directly within the visualization.
Overall, PI Vision offers a wide range of graphical tools and features to help users visualize and analyze their operational data effectively. Whether monitoring real-time processes, conducting historical analysis, or identifying performance trends, PI Vision empowers users to make informed decisions and optimize industrial operations.
Who uses it?
AVEVA PI Vision benefits many users across the organization:
First, operators and engineers are the power users. They're the ones building displays for monitoring processes, running trends over time, and seeing how assets perform over a given time period.
They then share those dashboards with middle and upper management, the second main user group. Managers view and consume the information as part of higher level strategy, using it to assess asset and plant performance as a whole and make decisions to optimize operations.
What are some of the key features?
- The first major feature of AVEVA PI Vision is Ad Hoc Trending. This allows users to quickly and easily begin root cause analysis by multi-selecting data items from any display and then sending them to an ad hoc workspace where those items will then be trended together with one click. This creates a seamless problem-solving workflow, as users can easily create, save, and share these ad hoc workspaces.
- The second key feature of AVEVA PI Vision is Collections, which is a grouping of similar assets. This allows users to easily filter their displays to only show items that are relevant (such as only displaying assets that need troubleshooting). Another benefit of Collections is that if you install new assets, Collections automatically adds them to the relevant PI Vision display, so there is no need to edit or rebuild displays.
- Lastly, Multi-Stating is another key feature of AVEVA PI Vision. This feature provides visual status indicators for the operator or engineer, making it easier for them to understand the status of their assets, at a glance. For example, a symbol on a display will begin blinking red when the value of that symbol has exceeded a predefined threshold, in order to draw the operator’s attention to a potential problem. When the value of the symbol is within the predefined threshold, the symbol can revert back to its original color, notifying the user that there is no longer an issue.
How are people using AVEVA PI Vision?
One of the most common uses is to build out process monitoring displays, allowing operators to visualize what is happening with the assets at a given site. AVEVA PI Vision is also extremely useful for conducting root cause analysis and visualizing trends. Users can then share displays across their team and/or other business groups, since it's a web-based client that allows for quick information transfer.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, a leading manufacturer of remotely piloted aircraft systems and radars, is using AVEVA PI Vision to monitor the conditions of paint booths for drones in real-time. Abbott Nutrition is improving process controls and increasing batch cycle times through better data visualization. Bondtech, a manufacturer of autoclaves, core lechers, and vulcanizers, is providing customers with web-based PI Vision dashboards for monitoring and system alerts. Sempra Renewables is using PI Vision to give operators rapid insights into each of their sites, with alarms tied directly into the screens for rapid issue detection.