Advanced Integration of Discrete Line Segments in Digitized P&ID for Continuous Instrument Connectivity

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel method for merging detected line segments from computer vision models to digitize P&ID diagrams, enabling automated linking of instruments and equipment for improved plant process management.

Contribution

It introduces a new approach to merge line segments in digitized P&IDs, facilitating automated extraction of interconnections for plant process analysis.

Findings

Enhanced accuracy in linking instruments and equipment.

Reduced time for P&ID digitization from months to automated processing.

Enabling advanced algorithms for plant system analysis.

Abstract

Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs) constitute the foundational blueprint of a plant, depicting the interconnections among process equipment, instrumentation for process control, and the flow of fluids and control signals. In their existing setup, the manual mapping of information from P&ID sheets holds a significant challenge. This is a time-consuming process, taking around 3-6 months, and is susceptible to errors. It also depends on the expertise of the domain experts and often requires multiple rounds of review. The digitization of P&IDs entails merging detected line segments, which is essential for linking various detected instruments, thereby creating a comprehensive digitized P&ID. This paper focuses on explaining how line segments which are detected using a computer vision model are merged and eventually building the connection between equipment and merged lines. Hence presenting a digitized form of information stating the interconnection between process equipment, instrumentation, flow of fluids and control signals. Eventually, which can be stored in a knowledge graph and that information along with the help of advanced algorithms can be leveraged for tasks like finding optimal routes, detecting system cycles, computing transitive closures, and more.