Automated reporting in AVEVA PI Vision
Beyond the Screenshot: Integrated Reporting in PI Vision
Screenshots are useful for a quick discussion. They are a poor way to produce repeatable operational reports. This guide compares browser printing with a reporting workflow built around the PI Vision displays your team already uses.
Why a screenshot is not a reporting workflow
A PI Vision display is built for exploring live process data. A report has a different job: it must preserve the relevant time range and asset context, remain readable after it is exported, and reach the people who need it without someone rebuilding the same document every shift.
When teams rely on browser printing, they often have to correct page breaks, crop trends, reapply backgrounds, and paste screenshots into another document. The work is easy to start and difficult to repeat consistently.
| Browser print and manual assembly | Integrated PI Vision reporting |
|---|---|
| Output depends on browser print settings and the operator cleaning up the result. | Report pages and output settings are configured once and reused for repeatable generation. |
| Selected time ranges, labels, trends, and page breaks can be lost or cropped. | Asset, time-range, collection, and Event Frame context can be configured as part of the report definition. |
| Recurring reports require repeated screenshot, paste, naming, and delivery work. | On-demand, scheduled, and event-triggered runs use the same reporting workflow. |
Printing and reporting are different workflows
These two outputs show the difference. The browser-print result is a page capture that needs manual correction. The integrated result is a report output designed to be read, distributed, and retained.
Practical rule: use PI Vision for exploration. Use an integrated reporting workflow when the output must be reviewed, distributed, archived, or compared later.
What Vision Report+ adds to PI Vision
Vision Report+ uses the PI Vision displays your team already maintains as report sources. It adds report pages, asset and time-range context, Event Frame context, generation triggers, configured delivery and storage, and execution history, so you can build a repeatable report without rebuilding the same view in another reporting platform.
Reuse existing displays
Start with one or more PI Vision displays that already contain the trends, tables, and KPIs your team trusts. Configure them as report pages instead of copying the data into a separate report.
Keep the right context
Carry the asset, time range, collection, and Event Frame context into the report so the output still explains what happened, where it happened, and over which period.
Choose how generation starts
Run a report manually, on a recurring schedule, when an Event Frame starts or ends, or through a PI Vision action when the workflow needs an immediate output.
Deliver and retain the result
Send PDF or image output by email or print, and keep report executions available for review, download, rerun, and retention instead of scattering screenshots across chats and folders.
Three ways to generate a report
1. Manual or on-demand
Generate the current report when an engineer needs it for a meeting, ticket, incident review, or handover.
- Uses the selected display, asset, and time context.
- Can be started from a configured PI Vision action.
2. Scheduled
Run the same report hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly for shift handover, production review, or management reporting.
- Standardizes the layout and delivery time.
- Removes repeated screenshot, paste, and email work.
3. Event-triggered
Generate a report when a selected Event Frame starts or ends, using the event duration and asset context for the output.
- Fits batch, downtime, and other event-based workflows.
- Preserves the context needed for follow-up review.
A practical implementation sequence
-
Choose one report that people already build by hand.
Start with a shift handover, production summary, downtime review, or incident report. Define the audience, trigger, delivery method, and decision the report should support. -
Select the displays and context.
Choose the PI Vision display pages, then define the asset, collection, time range, or Event Frame context that the report must carry into the output. -
Configure generation and delivery.
Set the page order, layout, naming convention, trigger, output format, permissions, and the email, print, or configured storage destination. Test with non-production recipients or destinations first. -
Compare the generated report with the manual version.
Check that trends, tables, labels, backgrounds, and long layouts remain readable at the final PDF or image size. Confirm the expected execution status and destination, rerun a test if needed, and refine the display or report settings before expanding the workflow.
Validate the output before rollout
Report generation is only useful if the final file is readable and predictable. Check the output with the permissions, data ranges, asset or Event Frame contexts, display layouts, and delivery destinations used by the actual audience.
Turn PI Vision displays into repeatable reports
Vision Report+ adds on-demand, scheduled, and Event Frame-triggered PDF reporting to the PI Vision workflow. Review the product workflow, FAQ, and demo to decide whether it fits your reporting requirements.
Explore Vision Report+
