SPC provides custom visualization development for AVEVA PI Vision by leveraging the PI Vision Extensibility Framework and API-based integration approach. This solution enables organizations to extend the standard capabilities of PI Vision beyond native visualization components, allowing the creation of interactive, contextual, and multimedia-rich operational dashboards tailored to specific business and process requirements.
By utilizing custom symbols and integration with PI Web API, the solution enables seamless access to real-time operational data, historical trends, asset information, and external systems. The developed visualization components are designed to improve operator experience, enhance situational awareness, and support faster operational decision-making.
The custom PI Vision extension was developed to support several key capabilities:
1. Contextual Information Popup and Asset Metadata Visualization
Custom popup symbols are developed to provide operators with additional contextual information without leaving the main dashboard view. These interactive components allow users to access detailed asset information, operational parameters, equipment status, documentation references, and related metadata directly from the visualization layer.
The popup functionality can be configured to display:
- Equipment identification and asset hierarchy information
- Current operational status and key performance indicators (KPI)
- Process parameters and equipment measurements
- Alarm conditions and operational events
- Engineering information and maintenance-related data
- Links to external systems, documents, or supporting applications
This approach improves navigation efficiency by allowing operators to drill down into equipment details while maintaining visibility of the overall process condition.
2. Real-Time and Historical Trending Using PI Web API Integration
The solution incorporates PI Web API-based data retrieval to provide dynamic trending capabilities within customized PI Vision symbols. This enables users to visualize both real-time and historical process data while maintaining the scalability and reliability of the AVEVA PI System infrastructure.
The custom trending components support:
- Live process value monitoring
- Historical trend analysis
- Multiple tag comparison
- Time-range selection and data exploration
- Automated data refresh for real-time monitoring
- Integration with PI Asset Framework (AF) elements and attributes
By utilizing PI Web API, the visualization layer can securely access PI System data and provide flexible charting capabilities beyond standard PI Vision symbols. This allows organizations to develop specialized trend displays based on operational requirements, such as equipment performance analysis, production monitoring, energy consumption analysis, and condition monitoring applications.
3. CCTV and Video Stream Integration into PI Vision Dashboard
To enhance operational awareness, the solution integrates CCTV video streams directly into the PI Vision environment. This capability allows operators to correlate real-time process conditions with live visual information from field locations.
The CCTV integration enables:
- Embedding live camera feeds into PI Vision displays
- Linking cameras with specific assets or process areas
- Monitoring critical equipment areas visually
- Supporting remote operational supervision
- Improving response capability during abnormal conditions or alarms
By combining process data visualization with live video monitoring, operators gain a more complete understanding of plant conditions without requiring multiple independent monitoring platforms.
4. Integration with AVEVA PI Asset Framework (AF)
The custom symbols can be integrated with the AVEVA PI Asset Framework, enabling asset-based visualization rather than traditional tag-based monitoring. This allows dashboards to automatically adapt based on asset templates, equipment structures, and attribute definitions.
Benefits include:
- Standardized visualization across multiple assets
- Reduced engineering effort for large-scale deployments
- Improved asset context and navigation
- Easier maintenance and lifecycle management of dashboards
This asset-centric approach supports enterprise-level deployment across production facilities, utilities, and distributed industrial operations.
5. Interactive and Data-Driven Operational Dashboard Enhancement
Through custom symbol development, organizations can transform standard PI Vision displays into advanced operational dashboards that combine:
- Real-time process monitoring
- Historical performance analysis
- Equipment condition visualization
- Multimedia integration
- Contextual asset information
- External application connectivity
The developed solution provides a more intuitive user experience by presenting information in a meaningful operational context, helping operators, engineers, and management teams make faster and more informed decisions.
Implementation Benefits
The implementation of custom AVEVA PI Vision symbols provides several advantages:
- Enhanced operator experience through interactive visualization components
- Improved situational awareness by combining process data, asset information, and video monitoring
- Flexible visualization capability beyond standard PI Vision components
- Better decision support through integrated real-time and historical analytics
- Scalable deployment using PI Asset Framework and reusable custom symbols
- Seamless integration with existing AVEVA PI System architecture
By leveraging the PI Vision Extensibility Framework, PI Web API, and modern web-based development technologies, SPC enables organizations to build advanced operational visualization solutions that maximize the value of their AVEVA PI System investment.
