Operations & Data Entry · PI Vision Custom Symbol

How to Add a AlarmIQ to AVEVA PI Vision

Everything you need to get the PIForge AlarmIQ symbol running on your AVEVA PI Vision server — installation, license activation, and a tour of every feature with live video.

What this solves

Installation — 5 steps, about 10 minutes

1. 1

   Download the package

   Purchase the symbol at piforge.app and download the ZIP from your profile. It contains four files: the symbol script (.js), two templates (.html) and an icon (.svg).

2. 2

   Copy the files to the PI Vision server

   Extract all four files into the PI Vision extension folder on the server: %PIHOME64%\PIVision\Scripts\app\editor\symbols\ext\ (create the ext folder if it does not exist yet). Use %PIHOME64%, not %PIHOME% — on a PI server those are different trees and PI Vision is only in the 64-bit one.

3. 3

   Restart the PI Vision application

   Recycle the PI Vision application pool in IIS (or run iisreset), then hard-refresh the browser (Ctrl+F5) so the new symbol script is loaded.

4. 4

   Add the symbol to a display

   Open a display in edit mode. The new symbol appears in the symbol palette on the left. Select it, then drag a tag or AF attribute onto the canvas.

5. 5

   Activate the license

   Open Format Symbol, paste the license key from your purchase email into the License field, and save. The watermark disappears immediately — no restart needed.

What you can do with it

Overview

Live Alarms Without an Alarm Server

Rules created automatically from your tags

Every plant has an alarm list. Almost none of them tell you which alarm matters. Drop the attributes you want watched and a rule is created for each one - running on live PI data, inside the display.

• Auto-creates a rule per dropped attribute
• Condition, limit, deadband, severity and message per rule
• Grouping, sorting, column selection and a summary bar
• Nothing to install on the server

AF-Driven Limits

The Limit Belongs in the Model

Point a rule at an AF limit attribute

A static number in a symbol goes stale the day engineering changes the limit. Point the rule at your AF limit attribute instead and the alarm follows the model automatically.

• Static limit or limit-tag mode per rule
• Compare against any other dropped attribute
• The table shows it is tracking a limit, not a constant
• Change it once in AF and every display follows

ISA 18.2

The Problem Every Alarm System Has

Chattering detection and alarm-rate KPI

A tag that crosses its limit fourteen times in twelve hours is not information - it is noise that trains operators to ignore alarms. ISA 18.2 calls it chattering. AlarmIQ flags it and reports your alarm rate.

• Counts alarm-entry transitions per rule over the window
• Chatter threshold configurable
• Alarm rate per 10 minutes against the ISA 18.2 target
• Chattering rows badged so you can shelve or re-tune them

First-Out

Which One Started It?

The earliest-onset alarm in a flood

When several alarms fire together the operator sees a wall of red. First-out marks the earliest-onset active alarm - the likely root cause - so the response starts in the right place.

• Marks the first alarm once a flood threshold is reached
• Flood threshold configurable
• In the demo vibration came first, then the bearing heated up
• Root cause, not noise

Bad Actors

Fix the Top Two and the Screen Goes Quiet

EEMUA 191 style Pareto ranking

Over a shift a handful of tags generate most of the alarm load. Bad Actor mode ranks them by annunciation count with a Pareto share - the evidence you need for a rationalisation review.

• Top-N offenders ranked by activations
• Percent of load and cumulative share
• History mode replays cleared alarms with durations
• Exportable to CSV

Frequently asked questions

What does first-out identification actually do?

It marks which alarm in a burst arrived first, which is normally the cause and is exactly the thing that gets lost when a cascade fills the list within seconds.

How is a chattering alarm defined?

By the ISA-18.2 measure — an alarm repeatedly transitioning within a short window. It is reported separately so that noise does not inflate the counts that matter.

Does AlarmIQ work with my PI Vision version?

Yes — PI Vision 2019 R2 through 2023+ are supported. The symbol uses the standard PI Vision extensibility model, so regular version upgrades do not break it, and one year of compatibility updates is included.

Do I need to install anything on client PCs?

No. The symbol is installed once on the PI Vision server; every browser client gets it automatically from there.

How is it licensed?

One license covers one PI Vision server, with unlimited displays and unlimited users on that server. The key is delivered instantly by email after purchase.

Can I try it before buying?

Every feature is demonstrated in live video on the product page, and a free symbol (Combo Chart Free Edition) is available on GitHub to validate the install workflow end to end. If you need a formal quotation or have to go through procurement, use the Request a Quote button on the product page.

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