Manually Enter Data for Attribute/Tag

1. What specific problem are you trying to solve with this enhancement?

• PI Vision currently cannot support governed manual data entry into AF Attributes or PI Points, forcing operators and engineers to rely on spreadsheets, offline notes, or ad‑hoc tools.

• There is no standardized, validated, auditable way to capture manual readings, inspections, lab values, KPI inputs, or correction of data gaps directly inside PI Vision. The other AVEVA solutions, like the old PI Manual Logger or the AVEVA Mobile Operator, does not provide a quick implementation of straight-forward data entry form enriched with information that only PI Vision is capable to display.

• Other options, like PI DataLink Data Entry Sheet , lacks in data validation, approval controls, error handling, timestamp rules, and audit trails, making compliance, traceability, and data quality difficult to enforce.

2. How would you like this feature to work?

• Provide a PI Vision custom Data Entry Symbol where users can:

  • Enter single values, multiple values, or time‑series tables for AF Attributes and PI Points.

  • Select targets via AF hierarchy browse, search, or pre‑configured lists.

  • Use single‑field input, checkbox/drop‑down for digital/boolean values, or tabular Excel‑like grids with timestamps.

  • Configure start/end time, frequency, auto‑generated timestamps, and optionally paste values from clipboard.

  • Benefit from full validation (data type, min/max, UOM, timestamp rules) before writing.

  • Perform writes with insert/replace behaviors and get clear feedback on partial failures.

  • Enable an optional approval workflow: draft → submit → approve/reject → post.

  • Use “Save/Cancel” pop‑ups, confirmation dialogs for overwrites, and clear inline error messaging.

  • Ensure all actions are audited (old/new values, user, timestamp, comments).

3. Who will benefit the most from this enhancement?

• Operations teams:

  • Capture manual field readings, inspections, and real‑time operational observations directly in PI Vision.

  • Prevent data loss and reduce reliance on spreadsheets or handwritten notes.

• Maintenance and Reliability teams:

  • Record condition checks, downtime timestamps, and machine status inputs needed for MTTR/MTBF and preventive maintenance workflows.

  • Manual Input of specific attribute values required for AF Analyses or external models

  • Improve accuracy and timeliness of equipment health reporting.

• Engineers, Energy Managers, and Process Owners:

  • Enter KPI inputs, adjust calculations, correct historical gaps, and validate time‑series data with full governance.

• Compliance, Safety, and Audit functions:

  • Benefit from structured audit trails, approval records, timestamp controls, and validation rules that improve regulatory reliability.

1. What specific problem are you trying to solve with this enhancement?

   1. Tracking KPIs Asking rate against Plan by enabling planners to put Targets directly using Pivision.

   2. Triggering an Analysis based on User inputs such as Check box, True or False kind of input. where specific input can not be automated due to technical constraints and rather it is based on Physical Inspections.

   3. Capturing Manually recorded data points

2. How would you like this feature to work?

   1. Check Box or Drop down for Boolean data points at current time stamp

   2. Single Data field to input just one value at Current Time stamp

   3. Table with data field to input multiple values along with option to change time stamp, a Add row option would be great to customize number of tags

   4. All these inputs should have option to save changes, Popup to save or cancel will be great.

   5. Option to upload data from a csv file into PI DA

3. Who will benefit the most from this enhancement?

   1. Operations tedam can keep up the track of all the information including manual data capture

   2. Maintenace teams to know the satus of equipement under planned shutdown or breakdown and enabling teams to capture MTTR/MTBF etc accurately

   3. Compliance and governance for Safety checks, Preventive checks etc

What specific problem are you trying to solve with this enhancement?

• We still have to use the PI Manual Logger admin 2014 version which is pretty outdated now. Thanks for considering this case.

• Trending functions are limited on the PI Manual logger web, user have to use PI Vision for better trending functions anyways. So switching of web pages would be skipped.

• A value update to an AF attribute value would help in the Analysis context (example a set point change) to trigger a calculation and the need to depend upon the tag to update the value with the help of PI manual logger would be mitigated.

• There should be a way to add context like reason codes, comments or attach notes directly.

• There should be an option to still have the limits.

• The manual entry should be able to log Old value, New Value, User Identity, Timestamp, Source and Comment/Reason code.

• For safety in some critical cases the value should be going in for a approval.

• It should still work in a low bandwidth zone. Most of the times still people do not have a great internet connectivity on the site.

• Bulk import and export data through files.

• Data should be buffered as always.

• Multistating should be allowed.

How would you like this feature to work?

• Context rich entry panel

• Better security and governance.

• Better auditing features

• Validation Rules should be in place to avoid bad data.

• Inline Functionality

Who will benefit the most from this enhancement?

• Operators

• Process and Production Engineers

• Supervisors and Managers

What specific problem are you trying to solve with this enhancement?

for example to enter weight of a roll or number of bales in a batching plant (value). Another example is to mention the reason of a machine breakdown (text).

How would you like this feature to work?

The value will be entered in an input box, which will be stored under the assigned PI tag. The time stamp and trending should be done by OSI PI as usual.

Who will benefit the most from this enhancement?

operators

1. What specific problem are you trying to solve with this enhancement?
   It will speed up analysis of phenomena in chemical plants. In chemical plants there are many datasets that we want to manage as time series in addition to the data in the DCS. Those data often cannot be collected automatically due to equipment design constraints, or automated collection is difficult from a cost–benefit perspective, so they are collected manually. If these data can be easily fed into PI, they can be readily compared with DCS values in PI Vision. As a result, we can start analyzing what is happening in the plant more quickly.

2. How would you like this feature to work?
   There are two useful functions. The first is a way to record a single value to a tag together with its timestamp. The second is a way to record multiple values with multiple timestamps to multiple tags; for this case we envision a feature similar to uploading a CSV to PI Vision. In either case, I think a mechanism is needed to restrict which tags are allowed to accept such operations.

3. Who will benefit the most from this enhancement?
   The primary beneficiaries are manufacturing engineers and operators who perform phenomenon analysis.

Feedback from a Refinery Operator’s perspective on Manual Data Entry & Trace Annotations

1. What specific problem are you trying to solve?

As a refinery operator, I face a 'Context Gap' every day. PI Vision tells me what is happening (e.g., a pressure spike), but I have no way to record why it happened directly on the trend. Currently, I have to write these events in a separate paper log or Excel. When the next shift comes in or when engineers look at the data later, they see the anomaly but don't know the cause (like a filter swap or a manual valve adjustment) unless they ask me. We need to bridge the gap between real-time data and operator knowledge.

2. How would you like this feature to work?

I need a simple, 'one-stop' interaction on the dashboard:

• Direct Entry: I want to type lab results or setpoints directly into a value box on the screen and have it saved to the PI System immediately.

• Trace Annotation: When I see a swing on the trend, I want to highlight that specific period and add a comment like 'Unit 01 Feed Pump Switch'.

• Bulk Commenting: Often, one event (like a power dip) affects many traces. I should be able to apply one comment to all related traces in one click, so anyone looking at any of those tags later will see the same explanation.

• Visual Markers: There should be a visual flag on the trend, so we know a comment exists. Hovering over it should show who wrote it and what happened.

3. Who will benefit the most?

Everyone from the control room to the office:

• Operators: We save time, reduce double-entry, and have much smoother shift handovers.

• Engineers & Managers: They won't have to call us to ask what happened two days ago; the 'digital diary' is already there on the trend.

• The Company: We capture 'Tribal Knowledge' that usually disappears when an operator retires or changes shifts, making our Root Cause Analysis (RCA) much faster.

This would transform PI Vision from just a display into a true decision-support tool for the frontline.

1. There are many variables the engineers want to manipulate. If they are PI tags, set up specifically for this function, then we can control permissions with AD groups and allow them to tweak things from Vision without going into AF where they can cause more havok. Being PI tags we can track the history of the changes. This also works for when the communications are down in the field, an onsite user can access a separate manually controlled display and enter in the readings from the site. Or used for manual rounds. It would not be used to edit PI tags that contain data streaming from the field, but new PI tags created specifically for manually entering data. Maybe pricing data, or ambient temperatures.

2. Have a visualization within Vision that allows them to put in a value for the tag we specify, much like the trend window but with an entry box, have the ability to edit the time stamp as well by modifying the visualization.

3. Engineers, admins, general users. Anyone that needs to make a change to a variable in the system, or an attribute.

4. Also be able to edit the attribute value if it's not a PI tag, write back into AF for this. Same idea, changing a variable without trending it or entering whose on call for this location or any one of the hundreds of thousands of things people store in AF Attributes.

We have our own in house developed visualization already for this, it works but it's basic and can't write back to an attribute in AF, just a PI Tag. We use AD groups and PI Identities to set who has access to modify these special MDE tags. We have to add the visualization back in when we do a Vision upgrade. Would be nice to have this out of the box functionality.

Would be useful for adding comments. For example an hour-by-hour screen might show a Red hour based on KPI (actual vs target).. An operator should be able to explain why in a comment box next to the red hour... Therefor strings would be required as one of the datatypes. Some of our plants have implemented Custom symbols to make this work, but because that is not supported by our IT team or AVEVA we cannot recommend those as an approved path forward. Having it apart of PI Vision and supported would allow us to proceed forward with these kinds of dashboards in a global standardized solution.

Lets make this out of the box function for PI Vision.

I share a similar concept.

My proposal is to enable manual entry of attributes into the Event Frame.

While the PI Vision Event Frame functionality already supports manual fields like Reason Code and Notes, allowing users to input standalone attributes would significantly broaden its applicability.

@AVEVA
We would appreciate your consideration.

I recognize why there is reluctance to change PI tag values from PI Vision - even given security. Could a reasonable compromise be found in setting PI attributes which do not have a data reference (static values)?

@AVEVA, Any update since AUG 2022?

@AVEVA, Any update since AUG 2022?

Please make sure that when the data is entered in Vision the it is sent to all members of the collective.

This suggestion could be merge with other ideas like:

https://pisystem.feedback.aveva.com/ideas/PIVISION-I-1607 (448 votes)

Really popular idea ... why is it still unscheduled ?

Hi,

I am extremely disappointed with this software. We have lost so many functionalities. Anger.

Hi ,

We are getting multiple use case from various industry clients to get the Manual entry feature in PI Vision. PI Vision is basically a monitoring window. However there are business requirement to push business set points, some customize requirement for writing data into PI. If we can have this custom symbol as default available symbol with restricted use case / data security, it will add great value to PI vision solution.

Dinesh

Any update on this improvement idea? Admin response dates back from almost 1 year ago although this idea has the most votes.

If you have someone cluey with VBA code and excel. You can set up macros to send manual information to tags through excel and macros