Types of Piping Drawings

For designing process or power piping, mostly five types of piping drawings are
developed. These drawings are developed from the schematics, basic design
basis, and specifications for process piping.

These various types of piping drawings in engineering organizations are:

 Piping Plan Drawings

 Process Flow Diagram
 Piping and Instrumentation Diagram
 Plot Plan Layout Drawing, and
 Piping Isometric Drawing

Piping Plan Drawings/General Arrangement

Drawings (GAD)
The piping plan or general arrangement drawings (Fig. 1) show all major equipment, it’s
north/south and east/west orientation, and all piping leading to and from equipment are
developed by piping designers. All Main piping items (valves, fittings, etc), instrumentation,
access ladders, and platforms are shown.

The GA usually shows a plan (top) view with elevations (side) and sectional drawings with
piping dimensions and details including line numbers, size, specification, the direction of flow,
etc. to help the piping designers to extract all necessary information for isometric or fabrication
drawing preparation.

General arrangement drawings are produced for specific mechanical equipment as well
which presents major dimensions in two-dimensional views. All nozzles, supporting details,
etc. are indicated.

A piping plan drawing provides the following necessary information:

 Pipe routing, length and co-ordinates.

 Spacing or centreline distance between one pipe to the other line.
 Correct positioning of the piping assembly on the pipe rack.
 Type of pipe supports required in the piping and pipeline systems.
 Instrument connection to the piping.
 Equipment connection.
Process Flow Diagrams (PFD)
A PFD or Process Flow Diagram (Fig. 2) is an un-scaled drawing or schematic which describes
the process of transferring fluid inside the piping. It will:

 state the fluid material that is conveyed by the piping.

 specify the rates of flow.
 list the equipment required for the plant
 provide basic line list parameters like pressure or temperature.
 equipment capacity and basic operating information.
 all critical valves including control valves.
A process flow diagram explains relationships between major equipment of a plant and informs
the fluid flow direction and connectivity between various equipment through the piping system.
PFD is important to easily understand any process, provide quality control, and increase
efficiency.

The pipe sizes, pipe class, instrument tags, safety valves, isometric number, type of valves, etc.
are not determined yet. The data from PFD are then transferred to P&ID or PEFS.

Piping & Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID)

Also known as Process Engineering Flow Scheme or PEFS. The P&ID is similar to PFD but
more detailed. It is a single line schematic drawing that includes all equipment, instruments
and controls, major valves and line sizes with pipe specifications. It is the first important
document that controls the activity of all other related engineering groups. P&ID s serves as a
master document and It contains all the data necessary for various other design groups to
proceed to the next steps of design and produce their deliverables.

Plot Plan Layout

A plot plan (Fig. 4) or site plan is produced by the piping designer which shows schematic of
the whole site with boundaries, roads, buildings, plant areas, equipment layouts, utility runs,
and other constructions of the existing project, etc. at a properly defined scale. So it gives an
overview of the entire plant. This allows the piping engineer to arrange equipment to optimize
the design to reduce cost.

Plot plant as a type of piping drawings is drawn in a to-the-scale drawing. The main purpose
behind a plot plan layout drawing is to find the exact area available and how those spaces are
used for piping, structure, and equipment positioning. A Plot plan provides the following
information:

 Total area details of the process plant

 Exact location of equipment, buildings, roads, etc.
 Total number of equipment to be erected in the plot.
 Length of pipe-rack.
 Area of each individual unit.
 Battery limit details.

Piping Isometric Drawing

Piping Isometric drawings (Fig. 5) represent the pipe routing with proper dimensions
including all piping items and equipment. They are not to the scale, single line diagram with
symbols for pipe components, weld points, and supports. Isometric drawings are used:

 By fabricator to fabricate the line.

 By piping material group for purchasing materials
 By the Construction team to erect the piping items in the site following proper routing.
All the above drawings are very important project documents and must be prepared with utmost
thought and care to reduce the amount of rework at a later stage.
PIPING DRAWING & TYPES OF PIPING DRAWINGS
What is a piping drawing?
The main purpose of a piping drawing is to communicate the information in a simple way.
These drawings are schematic representations and they would define functional relationships
in a piping system. The drawings would help to speed up the fabrication and erection work at
the site. Piping diagrams are designed in a way that will be understandable for non-technical
personnel. There are different types of piping diagrams and they are process flow diagrams,
piping and instrumentation diagram, orthographic pipe drawing, piping isometrics, and block
flow diagrams. By the help of these drawings and also with the project installation
specifications would provide good guidelines to complete the piping system.

what are the requirements for a piping drawing?

 Pipe length dimensions
 Location of fittings and valves
 Size and type of valves and fittings
 Pipe diameter contents and identification number
The pipe lengths are determined by calculations using coordinates and elevations. The vertical
lengths of the pipe can be calculated by using elevations, while the horizontal lengths are calculated
by using north-south and east-west coordinates.

How piping arrangement is done?

The process equipment and piping have priority over the piping arrangement. The primary and the
secondary beams are shown as utility stations so that the most proper route for the utility can be
determined. In a piping arrangement all the equipment, instrument connections with the tag
numbers will be shown in a piping arrangement, important details will be on large scale.

Piping arrangement drawings

The pipelines on a piping arrangement are shown by a single line or double line. In a single line,
only the centreline of a pipeline is drawn and in a double line representation, the actual size to
scales are drawn with the centreline marked as a chain dotted line.

How single line pipe drawing is done?

In this type of drawing, the flanges are shown as thick lines drawn to the scaled outside diameter
of the flange. In order to indicate the gaskets a small gap between the dimension lines in the flanged
joints. The valves are shown by identification number with a hand-wheel. If the valve is lever
operated, then the movement of handle position will be given. The flanged valve dimensions are
given to the flange face while the no flanged valves are dimensioned to the centre lines of their
stem.

Why colour codes are used in piping?

The colour codes are used in piping to identify the hazardous material that the pipe carries.

Yellow – flammable material

Brown – Toxic and poisonous material

Blue – harmful material

Green – oxidizing material

Grey – Physically dangerous material

Red – Fire protection material

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF PIPING DIAGRAM?

Process flow diagram
This diagram shows the relationship between the components in a system, this type of diagram
tabulates the process design values for different operating mode components. This type of piping
diagram won’t display minor components, piping systems, piping ratings, and designations. A PFD
diagram would contain the process piping, major equipment symbol names and identification
numbers, control valves and valves that affect the operation of the system, interconnection with
other systems, major bypass and recirculation lines, the composition of fluids, and system ratings
operation values like maximum flow temperature and pressure.

The process flow diagram conveys the major processing steps represented by the equipment

 It is very useful to convey the heat and material balances

 It is also useful for conveying the major piece of equipment
 It would convey the process condition
 Useful for conveying utilities
Block flow diagram
The block flow diagram is also called a schematic diagram and it is a non-scaled single line
diagram. This diagram is a simplified diagram of the piping system at the initial stages of the design
process. The equipment in the piping network is represented by simple shapes such as rectangles,
circles, etc. This diagram can be considered as a theoretical or conceptual layout of a system and
its operations. This diagram acts as a guide for the process flow diagram.

Orthographic pipe drawing

This type of drawing would show single pipes either straight or bent in one plane. This type of
drawing is mostly a single line drawing and it is drawn by drawing the centerline of the pipe as a
thick line and add valves and fittings, or double line drawings, where we can draw each valve and
fittings. The single-line method is mostly used where speed is an important factor. Mostly the
double line drawings are used for applications such as catalogs, where visual appearance is more
than the drawing time. This type of drawing is mostly used for complex piping systems. The
orthographic diagram shows only one side and because of that multiple drawings are required to
show the complete piping arrangements.

Isometric drawing
The isometric drawing is a type of piping drawing and it shows the piping system in three
dimensions (length, width, & depth). So in this drawing three sides of an object can be viewed.
This drawing is widely used for industries because it can be drawn easily and it would display the
object in a realistic way. This diagram shows both the horizontal and vertical planes. These
drawings are used in pipelines that have bent more than in one place. We can use either the single
line or double line method. The finished isometric drawings are easier to understand in practical
format than an orthographic line drawing. Mostly the piping isometrics are created from
orthographic drawings and this will be really useful for engineers. The isometric drawings are really
helpful for the complex or the larger piping system. The piping isometrics are used for the stress
analysis and it is very useful for the draftsmen to create the shop fabrication spool drawings.

The isometric drawing can be described as a pictorial representation that combines the height,
width, depth, length, into a single view 30 degrees from its horizontal plane. The line diagram
shows certain details such as operating and design temperature, operating and design pressure,
insulation required, hydro test pressure, pipe support location, point of weld, and its type.

Information on an isolation diagram

 Pipe support & elevation
 Coordinates of the reference items
 Piping section elevation and their angle with reference to the horizontal and vertical
 Piping class
 Test media and test pressure
 Insulation requirements
 Inline instruments and valve number, size, type
 Weld positions and welding specifications
 Operating temperature and pressure

Piping and instrumentation drawings
This diagram is widely used in the process industry and it would show the piping of the process
flow together with the installed equipment and instrumentation. This diagram would show the
functional relationships among the system components. The P&ID shows the graphical
representation of the equipment, piping, and instrumentation. In order to understand the P&ID one
should understand the equipment, instrumentation, and technology. The process symbol list of the
pant must be memorized so that we can determine the instruments while checking the diagram.
This diagram would also help the constructors to develop the other construction input documents.
The P&ID would provide the direct input to the field for the physical design and installation of the
field run piping. This diagram ties together the system description, the system flow diagram, the
electric control schematic, and the control logic diagram.

The P&ID would show the following

 Mechanical equipment
 It shows all the valves which are associated with the process piping
 Vents and drains
 Special fittings
 Sampling lines
 Permanent start-up and flushing lines
 Instrument designations
 Equipment names and numbers
 Valve and pipeline identification
 Direction of flow
 Reducers, increasers, and wages, etc
 Annunciation inputs and plant computer inputs
What are the advantages of P&ID?
 It shows the key piping and instrumentation details
 Control and shutdown schemes
 Safety and regulatory requirements
 Basic start-up and operational information
 Instrumentation and designations
 Mechanical equipment with names and numbers
 All valves and their identification and also shows process piping, sizes, and identification.
 This diagram plays an important role in the maintenance and modification of the process it
describes
 During the design stage, this diagram would provide the basis for the development of the
system control schemes, thus allowing for further safety and operational investigations such
as the hazard
 An Overview on Different type of piping drawing used
in Piping Project Construction
After designing a complete 3D model on software like SP3D, PDMS, Autodesk, etc it
is important to communicate the same information to the fabrication and construction
team with enough clarity. Sometimes it is not possible to convey all the information
through a single drawing. To resolve this problem designer developed many other
drawings that can collaboratively give the required information to the end-user of
drawings.

In process or power piping mostly 05 types of drawings are developed which help the
execution person to understand the concept developed by the designer. These drawings
give information with help of:

1. Schematics drawings
2. Drawings describing Basic design basis and
3. Specification for piping
In this article, we will explore all those piping drawings that are required to execute
piping work

1. General Arrangement Drawing (GAD)/Piping plan drawing

2. Process flow diagram (PFD)
3. Piping and Instrumentation Drawing (P&ID)
4. Plot plan layout
5. Piping Isometric drawing
At the end of this article, you will be able to understand and learn the following
information about all drawing types frequently used in piping.

1. What are these types of drawings drawing?

2. What information do we get from each of these drawings?
3. What checkpoint we must look for in every drawing?
4. Is there any limitation of every drawing? If yes, what are these limitations?
5.
Table of Contents
 Types of Piping Drawing
 Brief on GA drawing/Piping Plan drawing/Piping Layout drawing
o Some terminology frequently used in Piping GAD are:
o Information we gain from Piping General arrangement drawing/Piping Plan drawing
o Limitations of General arrangement drawing/ Piping Plan drawing
o Checklist for General arrangement drawings
 Brief on Process flow diagram (PFD)
o Terminology frequently used for PFD
o Information we gain from the Process flow diagram
o Limitations of Process flow diagram
o Checklist for Process flow diagram
 Brief on Piping and Instrumentation Drawing (P&ID)
o Information we gain from P&ID
o Limitations of P&ID
o Checklist for P&ID
 Brief on Plot plan Layout
o Information we gain from the Plot plan layout
o Limitations of Plot plant layout
o Checklist for Plot plan layout
 Brief on Piping Isometric drawing
o To Know more about Piping Isometric, please follow our this Article Specially
written about Isometrics
o Checklist for Piping Isometric drawing
 Difference Between GA and P&ID
 Conclusion
For planning and constructing a project, we need to refer to multiple drawings to extract
all data required. A single drawing is never enough for defining the nature, scope, and
layout of a project construction site. The types of piping drawing required are as
follows:

1. General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) or Piping Plan drawing

2. Process flow diagram (PFD)
3. Plant and Instrumentation diagram (P&ID)
4. Plot Plan
5. Piping Isometrics
Brief on GA drawing/Piping Plan
drawing/Piping Layout drawing
Piping General arrangement drawings or Piping plan drawings of either piping system
or equipment are developed by piping designers with the vision of giving clarity of
complete assembly of the piping system.

These drawings represent the main dimension of the piping system using a 2D view of
Top and side interface and sometimes the front view too. that’s why sometimes a piping
GA drawing is also referred to as a piping layout drawing.

Piping GAD describes a piping arrangement in the plan as well as an elevation view.
The plan view is a sectional view of elevation GAD, for each elevation, there is a
separate plan view representing all required information for that cut section.

All necessary details like support, the line-to-line distance, the layout of the line, the
position of line w.r.t to a civil structure. For a greenfield engineering project, the
equipment location needs to be fixed at the time of proposal. On starting of project work
this drawing is useful as the basis for developing the piping base layout.
Depending on the requirement and feasibility of piping layout arrangement piping GAD
gets revised and updated. The changes to equipment location require a necessary
transition in order to have desired piping arrangement. A piping GAD depends on some
reference source developed prior to piping arrangement work. And after some desirable
level of development modification is required to those references to get the required
piping layout arrangement.

Some terminology frequently used in Piping GAD are:

There are some legends or terminology that you must know while reading piping GAD:

1. Battery limit: It is defined as the boundary of plant area. The complete project
is limited to execute within the battery limit.
2. Drawing Limit: This gives an indication about the limitation of that specific
GAD. This is drawn with bold dashed lines around the drawing sheet.
3. Match Line: This line can be defined as connections between two battery limits.
Match lines are shown with coordinate in a horizontal plane and with Elevation
in a vertical plane.
4. Equipment: Vessels, Heat exchangers, Pumps, Columns, and other equipment
is relevant to this category.
5. Piping: A connecting line from one piece of equipment to another is
called piping.
6. Plant Area: The total project area is defined as a plant area where all required
equipment and piping assemblies are located.
7. Offsite: Any other area except plant area is referred to as offsite. Offsite is also
a part of the plant but it is for auxiliary services like tankage area, cooling towers,
chimney, flare exhaust, storage, etc.
8. Floor Penetration: When a line travels vertically through a floor GAD shows
this as floor penetration.
Information we gain from Piping General arrangement drawing/Piping Plan
drawing

Some specific information we can get from piping GAD is as follows:

1. Dimensions of pipe length and its route.

2. Centreline distance between the line to line.
3. The exact position of the pipe assembly on the pipe rack or unit.
4. Type of supports required in the pipeline.
5. Instrument and equipment connected to the piping.
Limitations of General arrangement drawing/ Piping Plan drawing

Unlike every drawing, piping general arrangement drawing has also some drawbacks
and limitations. Those limitations of General arrangement drawings are as follows:

1. This drawing doesn’t give details on the type and thickness of insulation.
2. This is not helpful with design data like design pressure, design temperature,
operating pressure and temperature, Hydrotest (HT) pressure.
3. This drawing seems very cumbersome in the case of a dense network of piping.
4. When pipe route change after traveling in vertical upwards or downwards
position. Sometimes it is impossible to get the exact elevation of the line at that
specific point.
5. From GAD we won’t get any information about rolling angle when there is some
non-conventional change in direction.

Checklist for General arrangement drawings

The following data must incorporate within the General arrangement drawing before
issuing this to the end-user for construction:

1. Drawing title block, Project Name, Pipeline numbers, and Reference drawing
numbers.
2. coordinates, Elevation, and the dimension of the pipe.
3. North arrow orientation, the direction of flow, and Line continuation details.
4. Equipment, valve, and instruments location.
5. Battery Limit, Drawing Limit, and match line details.
6. Floor penetration, and the orientation of valve.
7. Electrical and instrumentation cable tray and Junction box.
8. Operational space, overhead clearance, and manway clearance.
9. Platforms and walkways.
10. Space for Future scope of piping and equipment.
A process flow diagram or PFD is a typical flow diagram that explains relationships
between major equipment of a plant. It is most often used in chemical and process
engineering to get information on fluid flow direction and connectivity between
different equipment through the piping system. PFD helps to understand the chemical
process, provide quality control and increase efficiency.

A process flow diagram is used to get start to end understanding of how different
types of equipment and chemicals work together in the process plant. PFD maps various
tasks and helps you to understand which task is most important that needs to be done
repetitively to perform to achieve some specific product.

PFD helps to understand the process, provide quality control, and increase efficiency.
It is used to get a top-down understanding of how different types of equipment and
chemicals work in the industrial plant. It maps various tasks and shows what repeatable
tasks you may need to perform to achieve a specific goal.
Terminology frequently used for PFD

Here is a list of some typically used term which is frequently used in the process flow
diagram:

1. Major Equipment: This includes Name and Tag numbers of equipment that has
a major role in the plant. For example, Pumps, Vacuum column, Crude Column,
Compressors, Boilers, coolers, mixtures, etc.
2. Process piping’s: This is the network of pipes that transport fluid from one piece
of equipment to another.
3. Flow direction: This provides information about the direction of the flow of
fluid. i.e. from which equipment fluid is taken the exit and make an entrance.
4. Bypass system: This gives inputs about the alternate piping system to be used
in case of any maintenance or shutdown.
5. Operational data: This includes pressure, temperature, the volume of fluid,
density, mass-energy balance, and mass flow rate.
Information we gain from the Process flow diagram

A typical PFD always gives information like:

1. This indicates the capacity and operating information of the equipment.

2. for all process flow streams shown on PFD, this gives a unique identification
number. This identification number helps to get information about in and out of
fluid in any equipment.
3. all control valves and process critical valves are indicated in PFD.
4. if there is any other system is connected with the main piping system, It is
indicated in PFD.
5. Composition of fluid in a system
Limitations of Process flow diagram

There is something that must not be included in a process flow diagram and henceforth
we can get this information from PFD.

1. Pipe class and isometric numbers.

2. Piping code information.
3. Instrument tag numbers.
4. Minor bypass system and valve stations.
5. Maintainance drain and vents.
6. Pressure relief and pressure and pressure safety valves.
Checklist for Process flow diagram

before issuing a PFD to the process team following things must be check:

1. Drawing number, page number, Latest revision, and revision purpose.

2. Stream data table. e.g. correct units for measurement, flow rates
 3. Equipment tags correctly formated, well placed, and match with P&ID.
4. Instrument type and logic must be shown correctly.
5. in case of any revision, old and new line numbers must be differentiated
correctly.
Brief on Piping and Instrumentation Drawing
(P&ID)
Piping and instrumentation drawing (P&ID) is also known as Process engineering flow
schemes (PEFs). At first look, you may find PFD and P&ID similar but both have huge
differences from each other. P&ID is more detailed compare to PFD.

P&ID is a single-line schematic diagram that incorporates all equipment, instruments,

valves, line size, and pipe specifications to give us the necessary information.

P&ID is considered the most important document that controls all other
related engineering drawings. A P&ID shows all piping networks including the exact
physical sequence of branches, reducers, valves, instruments, types of equipment. A
P&ID can be used to operate a complete piping system, as it gives information on piping
with process flow and installed equipment and instrument with it.

Information we gain from P&ID

The following list will give you an overview of the information we obtain from P&ID.

1. Line number, Line size, and Specification of the piping system.

2. Name and number of all equipment.
3. Type of valve and identification of any special type of valve.
4. Details about High point vent (HPV), Low point drain (LPD), Special fittings,
sampling points, reducers, spectacles, blinds, etc.
5. The flow direction of lines.
6. Change in the spec in any line or spec break of a piping system.
7. Equipment to equipment connection details.
8. Instrument name and number in a piping system.
9. Insulation or Jacketing requirements.
10. Information of slope data if applicable for any line.
Limitations of P&ID

Although P&ID is much useful and basic drawing for any process plant. It has some
limitations and these limitations make this useless in the stage of construction of a
project. Some inherent limitations of P&ID are as follows:

1. As P&ID is not drawn on a scale it is unable to give you the exact dimensions of
any piping system.
 2. Process condition, Operation condition, and Physical data can’t be obtained from
this.
3. Equipment location can’t be determined with help of P&ID.
4. Line route, length, and fittings in use for the piping network can not be
determined.
5. Support and structural details are out of the scope of this drawing.
Checklist for P&ID

Going through a checklist before publishing a document is always a good option. In the
case of P&ID, It is true as well. The checklist for P&ID is as follows:

1. Contractor, PMC, and client details must be on P&ID.

2. Drawing number, Revision number, and sheet number.
3. Title block including By/Approved/Checked blocks filled and signed, Date, Rev.
all company logos, client signoff.
4. All equipment incorporated in P&ID must have the correct name and Tag
number.
5. Battery limits must be marked.
6. Change in spec or spec break should be highlighted.
7. Line arrow, flow direction, and connecting arrow must be clear and visible.
8. Position of spectacle blind much as per process requirement.
9. Any special note regarding any HOLD must be specified.
10. It must match the process flow diagram correctly.

A plot plan is basically an arrangement drawing where all equipment and its supporting
facilities like pipe rack, structure, buildings, roads are shown within the battery
limit. All equipment and its components are shown on a plot plan are identified by its
tag number mentioned in the Equipment index part of the drawing.

Plot plant is drawn is an on-scale drawn drawing. You can imagine that a whole
process plant can not be given on a readable drawing. Therefore, a distinction is made,
and the plot plan is categorized into two parts.

1. Overall Plot plan: A overall plot plan also know as a site plan or site master
plant. You can compare with a city road map where all important buildings,
parks, and street names are given but not any house number or any details about
each building. Here you can locate a tank farm or a unit in that process plant. But
it won’t be possible to locate a specific pump with help of the Overall plot plan.
2. Detailed plot plan: On the contrary with the overall plot plant, a detailed plot
plan gives an overview, i,e, Top view of some parts of the process plant. A major
advantage of a properly detailed plot plan is that you can even locate a small
filter on that.
Information we gain from the Plot plan layout

The main purpose of the plot plan layout is to show the exact way the intended land is
going to use and the equipment position determined. The information we can get from
a plot plan drawing is as follows:

1. This gives the total area detail of the process plant.

2. A plot can give an exact location of all major equipment and important building
like compressor area, pump house, refrigeration unit, CDU/VDU column.
3. A plot plan drawing can help us to identify the total equipment to be installed in
the facility.
4. From this drawing, we can determine the length of the pipe rack and the area of
each unit in the total process plant.
5. This gives details about the battery limit of the process plant.
Limitations of Plot plant layout

Yet plot plan is helpful with representing all important equipment located in a single
drawing but this fails to provide some other essential data as follows:

1. As the plot plan is a 2D plan view, this fails to provide and elevation details about
the plant.
2. This fails to provide the location of each and every equipment to be installed in
every unit.
3. this has no connection with P&ID, PFD, or Isometric. So, with help of this, you
won’t be able to judge the piping job in that process plan.
4. this doesn’t provide piping system layout, flow direction, or any measurement
of piping.
Checklist for Plot plan layout

Before finalization of plot plan, few things that must check are as follows:

1. Is this covering any future scope of the place as per the requirement of a project?
2. Does this show plan north and true north. And the difference in angle between
both.
3. The datum point is defined and located on the plan layout.
4. Coordinate gridline is shown or not along with Northing/Easting values.
5. An emergency exists and assembly points are shown.
6. Availability of access for the heavy vehicles for any erection purpose or
maintenance is checked or not.
7. All units/areas located with respective area code, name, tag.
8. Distance between units is mentioned.
9. The total equipment list is given in the plot plan layout.
10. All symbols provided are as per applicable standard legends.
11. Drawing standard is compatible with project specifications and company
standards?
 12. Drawing title, Drawing number, and project details.
13. Revision clouds along with revision triangles
14. Hold clouds if applicable somewhere.
15. Status stamp. i.e. for approval or for construction
Brief on Piping Isometric drawing
Piping Isometrics provides us complete details of pipe route, Dimensions, all technical
data required for project execution, and details of Support attached to that piping
network. Piping Isometric drawing is not on-scale drawing. It is a single line
diagram with details of:

1. Type of joint i.e. Butt, Socket, or Thread.

2. Scope of joint in field of the fabrication shop.
3. Piping components, Support details, Equipment connections, and any special
item connected to the piping system.
This piping isometric drawing is useful for each and every person connected with the
project. For e.g. :

1. For fabrication: To fabricate spools

2. Planner: To extract essential data for smooth planning and execution.
3. Site Engineer: To Plan job as per priority, Erection of spool, Alignment, and
Supporting.
4. Procurement Team: To extract MTO for required material in the project.
5. Billing Team: For the preparation of a bill to claim.
To Know more about Piping Isometric, please follow our this Article
Specially written about Isometrics

Checklist for Piping Isometric drawing

Unlike all other drawings, checking of Piping Isometric Drawing before the final release
is the most important thing from a construction point of view. A correct error-free
Piping isometric improves quality and saves time on the job. Most of the design
companies follow a checklist to help Piping isometric checker. This checklist contains
the following important points to look for:

1. North direction markup

2. Line numbers and Line specification
3. Start and Endpoint of Isometric with proper connecting details, coordinates, and
Elevation
4. Branch connection and other tapping points if applicable.
5. Flow direction
6. Correct symbols for applicable fitting in isometric.
7. Support location and Its tag numbers.
8. Insulation details; If applicable.
 9. Flow direction.
10. Instruments and Equipment tag number and connection details.
11. High point vent and Low point drain for Hydrotest purpose.
12. Details of Piping component its tag number, Size, specification, and standard
codes.
13. Slope or free-draining requirements.
14. Drawing details of P&ID and GAD numbers.
15. Details of any removable spool for maintenance purposes.
16. Any special requirement of the piping system.
17. Special piping components with Tag number and description.
18. Special notes for stress critical lines.
19. Status of Isometric. i.e. In Review or Released for construction
20. Latest revision number and cloud marking on changes from last revision.
21. The requirement of electrical tracing.
Difference Between GA and P&ID
GAD P&ID

This gives the actual direction of piping

Piping direction and layout can’t be determined with help of P&ID
arangement

Various information about dimensions

No information about dimension
can be obtained

Equipment nozzle details can’t be

All details about piping to equipment connection are present
obtained

Gives info about Support type to be

No information about support
installed

We can prepare piping MTO from this Material requirements can’t be fixed

The exact position of the pipe on the

This doesn’t give any information about the positioning of pipes
rack or unit can be determined
Conclusion
Yet all drawings are not in use at the same time but sometimes all those drawings need
to bring together for better clarity and understanding of the piping system in the process
plant. From the above article, we can conclude the following things for a better
understanding of this article.

1. A piping isometric drawing is co-related with P&ID, GAD, and PFD.

2. Piping Isometric is not drawn on a scale.
3. P&ID is a schematic diagram that gives information about the piping system
connecting from one equipment to another and its flow
4. PFD or process flow diagram tells us about state and chemical process details of
the main equipment installed in the plant.
5. General arrangement drawing or piping plan drawing is given a top view of the
piping layout and provides all required dimensions required for piping erection.
6. The plot plan gives you all details about every important equipment and unit of
the plant. this drawing is drawn on the scale.
7. There are some terminologies used for each drawing that we must know.
8. Information we can gain from each type of drawing and its importance.
9. There is always some limitation of each drawing that’s why we need to look for
another drawing for better clarification of the piping system.
10. Checklist for each drawing before releasing drawings for construction.