Best Practice to Pipe Marking

Pipe Marking

Basic instructions for pipe label design, and placement will help to improve facility efficiency and increase safety through visual communication.

Pipe Marking Importance

·         Safety-Eliminate accidents by minimizing identification errors.

·         Efficiency-No wasted time tracing pipes to their source.

·         Compliance - Reduce company liability and eliminate fines.

PIPE IDENTIFICATION STANDARD

The standard specifies the primary and secondary means of identifying pipe contents, as well as the size, color and placement of the identification device.

PRIMARY PIPE IDENTIFICATION

The text legend (name of pipe content) and directional arrow remain the primary means of identifying pipe contents. Attaching arrows at one or both ends of the marker indicates flow direction. See the ANSI/ASME size chart and installation guide in the following sections for more details.

SECONDARY PIPE IDENTIFICATION

A secondary means of pipe marker identification is the color code of the marker. The terminology of inherently hazardous or nonhazardous has been removed from the standard, effective since 2007.

Other significant color changes in 2007 included the addition of Brown/White for combustible fluids and Orange/Black for toxic or corrosive fluids.  The standard also identified four additional “defined by user” color combinations for additional customization options on non-standard markers. Those exact colors are the recommended safety colors contained in the ANSI Z535.1 standard.

The updates to ANSI/ASME A13.1-2015 added oxidizing fluids to the definitions for Yellow/Black, but did not add any new colors to the standard.

HOW TO PROPERLY LABEL PIPES

1. Obtain a legend list of all pipe contents in your plant.
2. Collect the following data on your piping systems (this may require tracing lines to determine quantities and sizes):

– Pipe contents

– Outside diameter of pipe (including insulation)

– Quantity of markers needed per ASME/ANSI A13.1 or other standards

– Pressure

– Temperature

– To/From information

– Location of specific legends by area (for aid in installation)

***Note: You may be able to use blueprints or P&IDs if they are current instead of walking down all of your lines. Seton also offers Take-Off Services to help you determine your pipe marking needs.

3. Select color of marker.

Other color codes may also be acceptable, as long as your choices are consistent and documented, and the affected workers are trained to understand the system.

 Use clear and simple terms to identify the contents of each pipe.

        Text should be easy to read from a distance

        Use a sans-serif font such as Arial or Helvetica

Source: Creative Safety Supply & Graphic Products

Collected by 

Doshti

Indian Safety Association