Asset Comparison Bar Chart+

Overview

When to use it

Use Asset Comparison Bar Chart+ when you need to:

• Compare one attribute across all the assets that match a search, such as the speed of every assembly line.
• Show several attributes for each asset side by side, on one scale or on separate scales.
• Keep only the highest or lowest assets of a ranking.
• Color bars by limits, or mark each asset's target next to its value.
• Compare a summary over the display time range, such as an average, instead of the current value.

Choose Asset Comparison Table+ when readers need the exact numbers of many attributes in rows. Choose Asset Time Series Chart+ when the values must be followed over time. Choose Asset Analytics KPI+ when you want counts and averages of many assets as cards.

Before you begin

• Prepare comparable AF assets: either an asset search by database, root, and template, or a fixed set of assets.
• Use numeric attributes. Units come from AF. Attributes with different units need their own scales (see Compare several attributes for each asset).
• Current shows the value at the display end time. A summary such as an average covers the display time range.
• Limits for coloring come from the limits of the AF attribute, such as Upper Limit 1 and Lower Limit 1.

Add and set up the symbol

1. Select Asset Comparison Bar Chart+ in the PI Vision symbol gallery.
2. Search for the assets, then drag an attribute such as Speed from the results onto the display. The symbol shows one bar for each asset found.
3. Right-click the symbol and select Configure Bar Chart....
4. Under Title, set Title to ON and enter Line speed.
5. Under Argument, set Sort by to Speed.
6. Under Data Labels, set Show to ON.
7. Close the configuration pane. The chart shows the assets from the highest to the lowest speed, each bar labeled with its value and unit.

Common tasks

Choose which assets to compare

Use this when the chart shows too many assets, or the wrong ones.

1. Right-click the symbol and select Search Criteria....
2. Narrow the search with Search Root (1), Asset Name (2), Asset Type, or Asset Category. Asset Name accepts wildcards such as Line 1.1*.
3. Set Number of Results (3) to the most assets you want.
4. Select Refresh (4).

The chart shows only the matching assets. Each symbol keeps its own search.

Show only the highest or lowest assets

Use this when many assets would crowd the chart and operators need the leaders, or the laggards, only.

1. In the configuration pane, open Argument.
2. Set Sort by (1) to the attribute that decides the ranking, for example Speed.
3. Keep Descending (2) ON to rank from the highest value. Set it to OFF to rank from the lowest.
4. Set Top N (3) to ON.
5. Enter the Count (4), for example 3.

The chart shows only the first three assets of the ranking. Top N ranks the assets that the search returned, so raise Number of Results in the search criteria when the ranking must cover more assets. For a ranking that reads from the top down, set Orientation to Horizontal under Style.

Compare several attributes for each asset

Use this when each asset needs more than one bar, for example speed and production, which have different units.

1. In the configuration pane, open Attributes and select Modify Attribute List (1). The link changes to Modify Attribute Properties and the pane lists the Additional Attributes.
2. Select Production Amount (2) in Additional Attributes.
3. Select the up arrow (3) to move it to Current Attributes.
4. Under Scales, open Value and select the Multiple scale type (1). Each attribute gets its own scale.
5. In Attributes, select Production Amount, and under Scale set Position to Right.

The chart shows two bars for each asset, and each scale takes the color of its attribute. For attributes with the same unit, keep the Single scale type, and set Stack Type to Stack to pile their bars into one.

Mark a target with a reference dot

Use this when each asset has its own target in AF and operators should see how far the value is from it.

1. Add the target attribute, for example Speed|Target, as in the previous task.
2. Select it in Current Attributes (1).
3. Enter Target as the Label (2).
4. Set Display (3) to Reference.

The target is drawn as a dot at its value on each asset, and the legend shows it as Target. Set Display to Tooltip instead to hide the attribute from the plot and show its value in the tooltip only.

Color bars by limits

Use this when operators must see which assets are in the normal band without reading the numbers.

1. Right-click the symbol and select Add Multi-State....
2. Select the attribute in Current Attributes, then check Enable Multi-State (1). The States list shows the limits of the attribute in AF.
3. Select the color box next to a limit (2) and pick a color. Repeat for each limit.
4. Optionally check Lines (3) to draw each limit as a dashed line across the plot.

Each bar takes the color of the band that holds its value. Limits come from the AF attribute of each asset, so assets can change color at different values. The Bad data color marks bars without a good value.

Show an average over the time range

Use this when the chart should answer how the assets performed over a period, not how they are doing at the end of it.

1. Set the display time range in the PI Vision time bar to the period you want.
2. In the configuration pane, open Attributes and select the attribute.
3. Set Value (1) to Average. Other choices are Total, Minimum, Maximum, Range, Standard Deviation, Population StdDev, Count, and Percent Good.
4. Choose the Basis (2): Time Weighted or Event Weighted.

The legend names the summary, for example Speed [Average]. Put the period in the title, because the chart does not show it.

Use the symbol

• Hover a bar to see the asset and the values of its attributes.
• Click a bar to do what the designer chose under Asset Selection. The default, Ad Hoc Chart, opens a Popup Trend of that asset's attributes. Set asset context changes the asset selector of the display to the clicked asset. Other actions open a hyperlink or filter other symbols.
• Double-click the chart to open a Popup Trend of every asset the chart shows.
• Full screen opens the chart in a large dialog. Download offers PNG, SVG, and PDF images, and CSV, JSON, and XLSX data with one row for each asset and attribute. The toolbar stays hidden until the pointer enters the chart, unless the designer chose Always.
• Filters: an Asset Filter+ or another asset symbol on the display can narrow the bars. See Filtering dashboards.
• No assets: when the search or a filter leaves no assets, the plot stays empty with its title and legend.
• The symbol only displays data. It does not write to the PI System.

Configure the symbol

Right-click the symbol and select Configure Bar Chart.... The groups appear in this order. The right-click menu also offers Search Criteria... and Add Multi-State....

Title

Style

Grid

Legend

Data Labels

Tooltip

Toolbar

Asset Selection

Filtering

Argument

The argument is the axis that carries the categories.

Value

Assets

Available when the symbol shows a fixed set of assets. A symbol with a search lists its assets in Search Criteria... instead.

Attributes

The list shows the attributes the chart reads. Use Modify Attribute List to add and remove them.

Numbers

Sets the number format of the data labels and the tooltip: Database, General, Number, or Scientific.

Search Criteria

Opened from the right-click menu. Used in Choose which assets to compare.

Add Multi-State

Opened from the right-click menu. Used in Color bars by limits.

Troubleshooting and limitations

Limitation: Display, Stack, and the settings of individual scales apply when Type is Asset. With Type set to Attribute, all attributes share one scale.

Limitation: Sort by, Top N, Group, and Label apply when Type is Asset.

Limitation: The chart has no setting for a free-standing reference line. Use a Reference dot, or the Lines of a multi-state, to mark a value.

Limitation: Each bar shows one value for one attribute and asset: the current value, or one summary of the display time range. For the history of the values, use Asset Time Series Chart+.