What are good PI tag naming conventions?

What are good PI tag naming conventions?

Well-structured tag names make your PI System easier to navigate, search, and maintain as it scales.

Common Naming Patterns

Hierarchical Pattern

Site.Area.Equipment.Measurement

Examples:

Plant1.Boiler.BLR001.Temperature.PV
Plant1.Boiler.BLR001.Pressure.PV
Plant1.Pump.PMP042.Flow.PV
Plant1.Pump.PMP042.Status.DI

Source-Based Pattern

DCSName:Controller.Block.Parameter

Examples:

DCS1:FC-101.PV
DCS1:FC-101.SP
DCS1:FC-101.OP

Key Principles

1. Be Consistent

Pick one convention and stick to it across the entire PI System
Document the convention so new team members follow it
Use the same delimiters everywhere (. is most common)

2. Be Descriptive

Include enough context to identify the tag without looking it up
Avoid abbreviations that aren't universally understood
Include the measurement type (PV, SP, OP, Status)

3. Plan for Growth

Use zero-padded numbers (PMP001 not PMP1) for consistent sorting
Leave room for new areas, equipment, or measurements
Consider how the name will appear in PI Vision searches

Measurement Suffixes

Suffix	Meaning
`.PV`	Process Variable (measured value)
`.SP`	Setpoint
`.OP`	Output
`.DI`	Digital Input
`.DO`	Digital Output
`.AI`	Analog Input
`.Status`	Equipment status
`.Alarm`	Alarm state

What to Avoid

Spaces — use dots or underscores instead
Special characters — avoid \, /, *, ?
Overly long names — keep under 80 characters
Encoding meaning in position only — T at position 5 meaning "temperature" is fragile
PI point names that match AF attribute paths — keep the two namespaces distinct

Relationship to AF

With PI AF, the tag name becomes less important for end users (they navigate the AF hierarchy), but good naming still matters for:

Interface configuration and troubleshooting
InstrumentTag lookups in AF templates
PI SMT administration and tag searches
Substitution parameters: \\PIServer\%..\Element%.%Element%.PV

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