TM-1003 Design Utilities

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AVEVA Plant

(12 Series)

Design Utilities

TM-1003

Revision Log

Date Revision Description of Revision Author Reviewed Approved

21/10/2008 0.1 Issued for Review NG

23/10/2008 0.2 Reviewed NG BG

24/10/2008 1.0 Approved for training 12.0.SP2 NG BG RP

14/01/2009 2.0 Approved for training 12.0.SP3 NG EW RP

Updates

All headings containing updated or new material will be highlighted.

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Printed by AVEVA Solutions on 16 January 2009

© AVEVA Solutions and its subsidiaries 2001 – 2007

Contents

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1.5 Using this guide ... 7

2 Clash Detection... 9

2.1 Overview of PDMS Clash Detection ... 9

2.2 Obstruction Values ... 9

2.3 Classes of Clash ... 10

2.4 How PDMS Reports Clashes... 10

2.5 Setting Clash Defaults... 11

2.6 Specifying What to Clash Check Against... 12

2.6.1 Obstruction List ... 12

2.6.2 Clash Limits... 14

2.7 Auto Clash ... 15

2.8 Clasher ... 16

2.8.1 The Clash Display Form Menus... 16

2.8.2 Clash Display 3D View Pop-up Menu ... 19

Exercise 1 – Clash Detection... 22

3 Quick Reports ... 25

3.1 Creating a Quick Report... 25

3.1.1 The Create a Quick Report form ... 25

3.1.2 Running the Report ... 27

3.1.3 Creating a Quick Report – A Worked Example... 27

Exercise 2 – Quick Reports ... 29

4 Report Templates... 30

4.1 Creating a New Report Template... 31

4.1.1 Destination ... 31

4.1.2 Selection... 32

4.1.3 Columns ... 36

4.1.4 Running a System Command ... 39

4.1.5 Creating a Report Template – A Worked Example... 40

4.2 Modifying a Report Template... 46

4.2.1 Subtotals and Totals ... 46

4.2.2 Runtime Prompts... 47

4.2.3 Other Formats ... 47

4.2.4 Page Info Options ... 48

4.2.5 Modifying a Report – A Worked Example ... 50

CHAPTER 1

1 Introduction

The AVEVA PDMS Foundations training module introduced Designers to the basic concepts of PDMS. This training module introduces further Design Utilities that assist productivity and produce data from the model to show the power of data centric design.

1.1 Aim

The aim of this training module is to introduce Design Utilities that complement and build open those covered in the AVEVA PDMS Foundations training module.

1.2 Objectives

ƒ To introduce the concept of clash detection and how it may be used interactively by Designers.

ƒ To enable a user to create quick reports and produce report templates.

1.3 Prerequisites

TM-1001 AVEVA PDMS Foundations

1.4 Course Structure

Training will consist of oral and visual presentations, demonstrations and set exercises. Each workstation will have a training project, populated with model objects. This will be used by the trainees to practice their methods, and complete the set exercises.

1.5 Using this guide

Certain text styles are used to indicate special situations throughout this document, here is a summary; Menu pull downs and button press actions are indicated by bold dark turquoise text.

Information the user has to Key-in will be in bold red text.

Annotation for trainees benefit:

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System prompts should be bold and italic in inverted commas i.e. 'Choose function'

CHAPTER 2

2 Clash Detection

One of the principal reasons for building a 3D model of a plant in PDMS is the ability to detect clashes and thus produce a plant design that is as ‘clash free’ as possible.

Whilst a completely clash free design is almost impossible to achieve, it is many times more expensive to resolve clashes at fabrication, assembly or erection time in the yard, on site or even offshore, than it is in a 3D model in the Design office.

2.1 Overview of PDMS Clash Detection

Project wide ‘clash runs’ are normally made at frequent intervals during the design process and are,

generally, timed events set-up by the System or Project Administrator and run during non-working hours, i.e. the middle of the night. This type of clash detection enables clash reports to be produced and certain clashes to be ‘approved’ so that they are not reported again unless specifically requested. This type of clash detection is outside the scope of this training guide.

PDMS also provides the user with interactive clash facilities so that clashes may be detected during creation or modification of design elements or retrospectively following completion of a particular part of the design prior to it being checked or approved. These types of clash detection cannot produce reports and clashes cannot be approved.

There is no ‘magic button’ that resolves clashes. Clash detection is, essentially, passive, i.e. clashes will be reported when asked but actions that may cause a clash are not prevented. Therefore, if clashes are found in the design, steps must be taken to resolve them.

2.2 Obstruction Values

All design primitives and all catalogue primitives have an Obstruction attribute (Obst) that defines the physical type of obstruction the primitive represents. For catalogue items the Obstruction attribute value is determined during the creation of the catalogue item. For design primitives however, e.g. a primitive used in equipment building and structural panels, the value is set by the user.

The Obstruction attribute may have one of three integer values: 2, 1 or 0.

• Obstruction = 2 – a hard obstruction. This value represents a solid element and is generally used for ‘real’ objects such as a piece of equipment, a steel beam, a pipe component, etc.

• Obstruction = 1 – a soft obstruction. This value represents a volume that is not solid but should be kept clear for access purpose. This value is generally used for access/escape routes, valve wheel access, stair headroom, tube bundle withdrawal volumes, etc.

• Obstruction = 0 – no obstruction. This value represents a freely accessible volume. It is generally used for simplified structural profile definitions, etc.

In addition to the obstruction types defined by the Obstruction attribute, Insulation is treated as a special obstruction type in its own right.

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2.3 Classes of Clash

As well as the three types of clashing item, i.e. hard, soft and insulation, PDMS uses three classes of clash depending on three values that may be set by the user, i.e. Overlap, Gap and Clearance.

The three classes of clash are:

• a Physical Clash – the primitive volumes overlap by more than the Overlap value.

• a Touch – the primitives either overlap by less than the Overlap value or are separated at their closest point by less than the Gap value.

• a Clearance – the primitives are separated at their closest point by more than the Gap value but less than the Clearance value.

In the following scenarios the values are set to: Overlap = 5mm, Gap = 2mm and Clearance = 8mm.

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combination they can make an enormous difference to the amount of clashes detected.

• Scenario 1 – the primitives overlap by more than 5mm, a clash is reported. • Scenario 2 – the primitives overlap, but by less than 5mm, a touch is reported.

• Scenario 3 – the primitives do not overlap but are separated by less than 2mm, a touch is reported. • Scenario 4 – the primitives are separated by more than 2mm but by less than 8mm, a clearance is

reported.

If the primitives are separated by more than 8mm then no interference is found.

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2.4 How PDMS Reports Clashes

Physical clashes, touches and clearances occur between two elements. The element that is being checked is known as the Clash Item and the element that interferes with it is known as the Obstruction Item. When clashes, touches and clearances are reported the class of clash is prefixed by the type of obstruction of the Clash Item and the Obstruction Item. The Clash Item is always specified first, for example:

• HS Hard/Soft – the Obst value of the Clash Item is 2 and Obst value of the Obstruction Item is 1. • HI Hard/Insulation - the Obst value of the Clash Item is 2 and the Obstruction Item is insulation. • SS Soft/Soft – the Obst value of both the Clash Item and Obstruction Item is 1.

• SH Soft/Hard - the Obst value of the Clash Item is 1 and Obst value of the Obstruction Item is 2. • SI Soft/Insulation - the Obst value of the Clash Item is 1 and the Obstruction Item is insulation. • II Insulation/Insulation – both the Clash Item and the Obstruction Item are insulation.

• IH Insulation/Hard – the Clash Item is insulation and the Obst value of the Obstruction Item is 2. • IS Insulation/Soft – the Clash Item is insulation and the Obst value of the Obstruction Item is 1. Therefore, interferences may be reported as HH Clash, HH Touch, HH Clearance, HS Clash, HS, Touch, HS Clearance, etc.

Clashes between the following pairs of items are not reported • Primitives belonging to the same equipment.

• Two structure or substructure primitives having the same owner. • Two piping components that are connected.

• A piping component and the nozzle to which it is connected. • Any component or primitive that has its obstruction value set to 0.

2.5 Setting Clash Defaults

Selecting Settings>Clasher>Defaults… from the main menu displays the Clash Defaults form.

The Overlap, Gap and Clearance settings may be made by entering the required values in the appropriate textboxes. The Touches are option list enables the user to specify whether touches (and clearances) are to be Included or Ignored.

The Clashes within Branch options list enables the user to specify how Branches are checked and has the following options:

• are Included – this option runs the ACHECK function which performs a primitive-by-primitive check of every component in each branch.

• are Ignored – this option ignores clashes within individual Branches but reports clashes between items in different Branches.

Ignore Adjacent – this option runs the BCHECK function which is a simplified check that ignores the possibility of clashes between certain pairs of components within the Branches.

The Connections options list enables the user to control clash checking at steelwork junctions. Clashes between sections and attached joints are ignored automatically. However, if end preparations at steelwork joints have been left until late in the design process, clash reporting at connections may be inhibited using the following options:

• are Included – (default) includes all steelwork connections. • are Ignored – ignores all steelwork connections.

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The Colour buttons determine the colour of the Clash Item and the Obstruction Item when the clashes are displayed in a 3D View. Clicking the Major Clash Items button displays the Major Clash Items Colour form and clicking the Obstruction Items button displays the Obstruction Items Colour form. The required colour may be selected from the palette.

The Reset to System button resets the form settings to the system defaults which are read from a system file when PDMS is opened.

The Reset to File button refreshes the Clash Defaults form from this file, which may have been modified since PDMS was opened.

2.6 Specifying What to Clash Check Against

Having set the clash defaults the items to clash check against must be specified. The items to check against may be specified by an Obstruction list or by setting clash limits.

2.6.1 Obstruction List

Selecting Settings>Clasher>Obstruction>List… from the main menu displays the Add/Remove Obstruction Items form.

The form enables members of the Obstruction List, which the checked item(s) will be clashed against, to be specified. The form provides several ways in which items may be added or removed from the list. The left pane is a view of the Design databases in the current MDB. The right pane is the contents of the Obstruction List.

The default content of the list is All, meaning that all Design items in the MDB will be used to check against.

With All set no other elements can be added to the Obstruction List.

The textbox above the left pane allow names to be entered and located in the databases. The left and right arrow buttons either side of this textbox step through the database elements, either forwards (right arrow) or backwards (left arrow) at the same hierarchy level as the CE.

The Goto button works in conjunction with the adjacent options list which offers a selection of items, e.g. Owner, Spref, Pspec, Ispec, etc. The list is context sensitive and will, therefore, give different options depending on the CE.

The Add button works in conjunction with the adjacent options list which has the following options:

• Members – with this option set clicking the Add button adds the CE to the Obstruction List (unless All is set, in which case it must be removed from the list before any other elements may be added).

• Cursor – with this option set clicking the Add button displays the prompt ‘Identify element to be Add to

the Obstruction List list’. The required element is graphically picked from the 3D View. Note: this only

works for one item pick.

• List – with this option set clicking the Add button adds the contents of the current list to the Obstruction List.

• All – with this option set clicking the Add button removes any elements currently in the Obstruction List and replaced it with the key word All.

The Remove button works in conjunction with the adjacent options list which has the following options: • Selected –with this option set clicking the Remove button removes the selected (highlighted) elements

from the Obstruction List.

• Members - with this option set clicking the Remove button removes the CE from the Obstruction List. • Cursor - with this option set clicking the Remove button displays the prompt ‘Identify element to be

Remove from the Obstruction List list’. The required element is graphically picked from the 3D View.

Note: this only works for one item pick.

• List – with this option set clicking the Remove button removes the contents of the current list from the Obstruction List.

• All - with this option set clicking the Remove button removes all elements from the Obstruction List and replaced it with the key word None.

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2.6.1.1 Obstruction List Form Menu

The Control form menu has the following options: • Obstruction List

• Exclusion List

• Close – this option closes and dismisses the form.

Selecting the Exclusion List option changes the form to an Exclusion list form.

The form is the same as the Obstruction List form except that the right hand pane displays the contents of the Exclusion List. The default entry is None.

This list may be used to exclude specific elements from the clash check where, say, the element’s Owner has been included in the Obstruction List. Any elements in the Exclusion List will not be considered during clash checking.

The form functions in exactly the same way as described for the Obstruction List. Selecting the Obstruction List option from the Control form menu changes the form back to the Obstruction List form.

The Navigation form menu option has the following options to assist in navigating the hierarchy when constructing the Obstruction or Exclusion Lists.

• First – this option has a sub-menu with Element and Member options. These options will find the first element or member of the CE.

• Last – this option has a sub-menu with Element and Member options. These options will find the last element or member of the CE.

• Same – this option returns to the last CE.

2.6.2 Clash Limits

By default, all parts of the Design model relevant to the current Obstruction List will be checked during a clash check run. However, if the entire design is not required to be checked a restricted region of interest may be specified using a Clash Limits box.

Selecting Settings>Clasher>Obstruction>Limits… from the main menu displays the Clash Limits form which enables two opposing corners of a box to be specified to define the clash limits.

The co-ordinates of the box corners may be specified by entering values in the textboxes to specify From and To points.

The Clash Limits box may also be defined by using the Cursor and Control form menus.

The Cursor form menu has the following options:

• ID – this option displays the prompt ‘Identify element’. An element may be graphically picked from the 3D View. The co-ordinates of the limits of the picked item are displayed in the relevant From and To textboxes.

• Origins of Item(s) – this option displays the prompt ‘Identify items. Pick Cancel when all items have

been selected’. Single or multiple elements may be graphically picked from the 3D View. Pressing the

Esc button ends the selection process. The maximum co-ordinates of the origins of the selected items are determined and entered into the relevant From and To textboxes.

• Limits of Items(s) - this option displays the prompt ‘Identify items. Pick Cancel when all items have

been selected’. Single or multiple elements may be graphically picked from the 3D View. Pressing the

Esc button ends the selection process. The maximum co-ordinates of the limits of the selected items are determined and entered into the relevant From and To textboxes.

The Control form menu has the following options:

• CE – this option sets the Clash Limits box to the limits of the current element. The co-ordinates are displayed in the relevant From and To textboxes.

• No limits – this option sets all co-ordinates for the Clash Limits box to 0, i.e. there are no limits and the entire design model is considered during clash detection runs.

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2.7 Auto Clash

Auto Clash may be turned on by clicking the Auto Clash button on the Utilities toolbar or by selecting

Settings>Clasher>Auto Clash from the main menu.

When Auto Clash is switched On, a clash check is carried out at the end of every command in which an element has been modified in some way that could cause a clash to occur; for example:

• When a new element has been created

• When an element's position and/or orientation has been changed. • When an element's geometry has been changed.

Each clash check is carried out using the current default settings. If the Obstruction List is extensive, Auto Clash may have a small overhead in performance so it is good practice to consider the contents of the Obstruction List or restrict the volume being considered using a Clash Limits box. Auto Clash is very useful where a few new items are to be added to an existing design which has already been checked for clashes Auto Clash starts checking when it is switched On. Any clashes that have occurred before that time are not considered. Similarly, Auto Clash stops checking as soon as it is switched Off and any clashes that occur after that time are not considered.

When a clash is detected the Clash Item and Obstruction Item are highlighted in the colours specified by the Clash Defaults form. If a clashing element is already in the Drawlist it will be highlighted in the appropriate colour. If the element is not currently displayed, it will be added to the Drawlist automatically, in the default visible colour, and will then be highlighted in the appropriate colour. The element stays highlighted until another clash is found, until all graphical highlighting is specifically removed or the clash is resolved. The results of each clash check replace those of any previous checks, so that any reported clashes must result from the actions of the last command. The user’s attention will normally already be focussed on the current element, so that it is usually more convenient to rely on graphical highlighting to show the clash rather than to output the clash data to a file.

In order to avoid spurious clash reports when a new Branch is created, the last section of implied tube in a Branch is checked only if the Branch LTAI attribute is set to True. (The LTAI attribute is set automatically when the Branch Tail is positioned.)

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• If the current element is a Piping Component and is the last component in the Branch, then its leave tube is checked only if the Branch LTAI attribute is set to True.

• If the current element is a Branch which has no members, then the tube which constitutes the Branch is checked only if the Branch LTAI attribute is set to True.

2.8 Clasher

In addition to Auto Clash, PDMS provides the user with interactive clash detection utility, called Clasher, which may be used at any time. If Auto Clash is not used, it is good practice to use this utility whenever a significant part of the model has been completed so that any errors in the design can be resolved before having an impact on later design elements.

Like Auto Clash, Clasher is designed as a users clash checking tool and reports cannot be generated from the checks.

Selecting Utilities>Clashes… from the main window displays the Clash Display form.

The form contains a 3D View, with limited view control functionality, to graphically display the clashes and a Clash List of all the clashes found during the clash check.

Clash checking and viewing of the results is controlled by the form menus and the 3D View pop-up menu, as described in the following sections.

2.8.1 The Clash Display Form Menus

The Clash Display form menus have option to initiate a clash check, view and organise the results, display details of the clashes and navigate to the Clash Item and Obstruction Item.

2.8.1.1 Control

The Control form menu has the following options:

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• Close – this option dismisses the Clash Display form.

2.8.1.2 List

The List form menu has the following options:

• Refresh – this option refreshes the Clash List display.

• Clash – this option has a sub-menu which enables the user to select the clash of clash to be displayed in the Clash List.

The All option displays all clash classes, i.e. Physical clashes, Touches and Clearances. The Physical, Touch and Clearance options will only display that class of clash.

The Not Proven option displays not proven clashes.

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The Specify… option displays the Specify Clash Type form:

The Extent options list enables Physical, Touches or Clearance to be specified. The Clash Level

options list enables the clash type to be specified.

2.8.1.3 Navigation

The Navigation form menu has the following option:

• Clash Item – selecting this option will navigate to the Clash Item in Design Explorer for the clash highlighted in the Clash List.

• Obstruction Item – selecting this option will navigate to the Obstruction Item in Design Explorer for the clash highlighted in the Clash List.

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2.8.1.4 Query

The Query form menu has the following options:

• Clash – this option has a sub-menu that enables the user to view details or a summary of the clah highlighted in the Clash List.

The Detail… option displays the Clash Detail form that gives details of the Clash Item, the Obstruction Item and the Position of the clash.

The Summary… option displays the Summary form that gives a summary of the clashes found in the last check.

• Defaults… - this option displays the Current Default Settings form that details the current defaults. This form is not editable.

2.8.1.5 History

The History form menu has the following options: • Redisplay – this option

• Empty – this option

2.8.2 Clash Display 3D View Pop-up Menu

The Clash Display 3D View pop-up menu enables the users to control the 3D View, in addition to the view control buttons on the left side of the 3D View, and focus on the Clash Item, Obstruction Item or both.

The majority of options on the menu and sub-menus are the same as, or similar to, the standard view control tools and, as such, are not within the scope of this training guide. The following sections list the available options but only detail those applicable to clash detection.

2.8.2.1 View Control

The View Control option has a sub-menu with the following options:

The sub-menu options are standard middle mouse button drag options also available by pressing the appropriate function key, e.g. F3

2.8.2.2 Look

The Look option has a sub-menu with the following options:

The sub-menu options are standard view direction options an incorporate the standard Plan options.

2.8.2.3 Iso

The Iso option has a sub-menu with the following options:

The sub-menu options enable standard isometric view direction options to be selected, i.e. selecting One will set an Iso 1 view direction.

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2.8.2.4 Limits

The Limits option has a sub-menu with the following options:

The sub-menu options, with the exception of Clash, are standard methods of setting the view limits.

The Clash option has a sub-menu that has the following options:

• Item – selecting this option sets the view limits and adjusts the clipping planes to the Clash Item of the highlighted clash in the Clash List.

• Obstruction - selecting this option sets the view limits and adjusts the clipping planes to the Obstruction Item of the highlighted clash in the Clash List.

• Both - selecting this option sets the view limits and adjusts the clipping planes to include both the Clash Item and the Obstruction Item of the highlighted clash in the Clash List.

2.8.2.5 Rotate

The Rotate option has a sub-menu with the following options:

The sub-menu options, with the exception of Clash, are standard methods of setting the centre of rotation.

The Clash option has a sub-menu that has the following options:

• Item – selecting this option sets the centre of rotation to the origin of the Clash Item of the highlighted clash in the Clash List.

• Obstruction - selecting this option sets the centre of rotation to the origin of the Obstruction Item of the highlighted clash in the Clash List.

• Both - selecting this option sets the view centre of rotation to a point midway between the origin of the Clash Item and the origin of the Obstruction Item of the highlighted clash in the Clash List.

2.8.2.6 Settings

The Settings option has a sub-menu with the following options:

The sub-menu options, with the exception of Long Menus, are standard methods of setting the 3D View options.

The Long Menus option is a toggle that when switched on, indicated by a check mark adjacent to the entry, adds a Clipping option to the main pop-up menu and extended sub-menu options to the Look, Limits, Rotate and Settings options:

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Exercise 1 – Clash Detection

• Clear the Drawlist and add the ZONE named /PIPING below the SITE /STABILIZER to the 3D View. Set the view direction to Iso 3.

• Select Settings>Clasher>Defaults… from the main menu to display the Clash Defaults form. Check the Clash Midpoint Position checkbox. Set the Major Clash Items colour to Green and the

Obstruction Items colour to Cyan. Click the Apply button and then the OK button to dismiss the form. • Select Settings>Clasher>Obstruction>List… from the main menu to display the Add/Remove

Obstruction Items form. Click the All entry in the Obstruction List and click the Remove button. The Obstruction List entry now reads None.

• Navigate to the ZONE named /STRUC and click the Add button on the form. Note that the ZONE has been added to the Obstruction List. Repeat the operation to add the ZONE named /EQUIPMENT to the Obstruction List.

• Select Control>Close from the form menu to dismiss the form.

• Select Utilities>Clashes… from the main menu to display the Clash Display form.

• Navigate to PIPE 150-A-57 in Design Explorer to make it the CE. Select Control>Check CE from the form menu. There should be three clashes displayed in the Clash List:

Note that in the main 3D View two structural sections, coloured Cyan have been added to the view, indicating that these are the Obstruction Items. Also note that the three tubes on the selected Pipe are coloured Green, indicating they are the Clash Items.

• Select the first clash in the list, i.e. HH CLASH 150-A-57/B1 (tube), on the Clash Display form, right click in the form’s 3D View and select Limits>Clash>Both from the pop-up menu. The Clash Items and Obstruction Items are now displayed in the 3D View on the Clash Display form.

• Select Navigation>Obstruction Item on the form menu and note that the Obstruction Item is now the CE in Design Explorer. Click the Limits CE button on the left side of the form 3D View. This maximises the Obstruction Item in the 3D View. Rotate and zoom the form 3D View so that the clash between the pipe and the structural section is clearly shown:

• The obvious resolution for this clash is to raise the pipe to clear the beam, allowing for any pipe supports that may be required.

• Select the second clash in the Clash List, i.e. HH TOUCH ELBOW 2 OF BRANCH /150-A-57/B1 (tube), on the Clash Display form. Select Query>Clash>Detail… from the form menu to display the Clash Detail form:

This clash is a ‘touch’ between the leave tube of Elbow 2 of the branch and a beam named B12. • Right click in the form 3D View and select Limits>Clash>Both from the pop-up menu. The new Clash

Item and Obstruction Item are maximised in the 3D View. Select Navigation>Obstruction Item from the form menu and click the Limits CE button on the left side of the form 3D View.

• Rotate and zoom the form 3D View so that the clash between the tube and the structural section is clearly shown:

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being used. The tube is not overlapping the section but resting on it, therefore, it is not a Clash but a touch.

• Select Settings>Clasher>Defaults… from the main menu to display the Clash Defaults form. Modify the Touch Gap setting to 1 and the Clearance setting to 5 and click the Apply and OK buttons on the form. Graphically pick the structural section involved in the touch (SCTN B12) from the form 3D View to make it the CE. Enter BY D 3 in the Command Window and press the Return key to move the section down by 3mm.

• Navigate to PIPE 150-A-57 in Design Explorer to make it the CE. Select Control>Check CE from the Clash Display form menu and note that the two previous touches are now classed as clearances, due to the change in the default settings.

• Navigate to the ZONE PIPING in Design Explorer to make it the CE. Select Control>Check CE from the Clash Display form menu. There should be significantly more clashes than previously. Select

Query>Clash>Summary… from the form menu to display the Summary form. This displays the total number of clashes in the various classes.

Note the total number of clashes and click the Dismiss button on the form.

• Change the default Touch Gap and Clearance settings on the Clash Defaults form back to 0 and apply them. With the ZONE PIPING as the CE, select Control>Check CE from the Clash Display form menu again. Select Query>Clash>Summary… again and note that the number of clashes has been reduced and the number in each class differs.

• Change the default settings to different settings and check the ZONE PIPING again, noting any difference in the number of each class of clash.

CHAPTER 3

3 Quick Reports

The PDMS databases hold a large amount of data about the Plant that is being modelled. This data may be extracted from the databases as graphical information, i.e. drawings; interface information, i.e. for pipe stressing, structural analysis and structural detailing; or in textual form, i.e. for reports, material take-off/bill of materials (MTO/BOM), weights and centre of gravities, etc.

PDMS provides two methods of creating reports:

• Quick Reports which are created ‘on the fly’ and only last for the current session. • Reports, where a template of the report is created that may be re-used in any session.

Both methods of creating reports are available in Design, Draft and Paragon.

3.1 Creating a Quick Report

Selecting Utilities>Quick Reports… from the main menu displays the Create a Quick Report form:

3.1.1 The Create a Quick Report form

The form has textboxes that enable the user to specify the output destination, which element types will be included in the report, the report contents and the places to search for the element types. The textboxes are detailed in the following sections.

3.1.1.1 File

The File textbox enables a path name and filename to be specified for the report destination in the format

<pathname>\<filename>.

Checking the Term checkbox sends the report output to the Command Window, if open, or to an AVEVA PDMS Design Command Output window, which opens automatically, if the Command Window is not open.

3.1.1.2 Types

The Types textbox may contain any valid PDMS element type, e.g. SITE, ZONE, PIPE, BRAN, ELBO, VALV, FRMW, SBFR, SCTN, GENSEC, EQUI, etc. that will form the basis of the data produced in the report.

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in the report. Element types that have few attributes in common may, depending on the attributes used, have many ‘null’ text column entries.

The reserved word MEMBERS may be used in conjunction with different element types. For example, entering BRAN MEMBERS will report on all of the members of a Branch, e.g. ELBO, TEE, VALV, GASK, FLAN, etc.

3.1.1.3 With

The With textbox is a filter to further refine the element types to be used in the report. If left blank, all elements of the specified types will be reported.

The With textbox may contain any valid PDMS expression, for example:

Element Type(s) With syntax Elements Reported

PIPE PSPEC EQ /A3B Pipes with a Pipe Spec. of /A3B.

BRAN HBOR GE 100 Branches with Head Bore greater or equal

to 100 NB. BRAN

MEMBERS

HBOR OF BRAN GT 100 AND HBOR OF BRAN LT 200

Branch members where the Head Bore of the Branch is greater than 100 NB but less than 200 NB.

SCTN SPREF EQ /DIN-SPEC/HE300A Sections with a Specification Reference of DIN Spec HE300A.

PANE MATREF EQ /A36 Panels with a Material Reference of /A36

EQUI FUNC NE ‘FUTURE’ All Equipment whose Function is not

equal to FUTURE. EQUI :MANUF EQ ‘Best Pumps Inc.’ OR

:MANUF EQ ‘Better Pumps Ltd.’

All Equipment where the UDA :MANUF (Manufacturer) is either Best Pumps Inc. or Better Pumps Ltd.

3.1.1.4 Columns

The Columns textbox is where the PDMS attributes, pseudo-attributes or UDAs are specified. Each attribute forms a column in the report in which the attribute for each element specified in Types, and filtered by With, is output.

Multiple attributes must be space separated. A column may be a valid expression, for example (SUBS(FULLNAME, 2)) which will return the elements full name starting at character 2. The attribute or expression text will from the column header.

3.1.1.5 Hierarchy

The Hierarchy textbox enables the elements to search for the specified Types to be defined. A named element may be specified, e.g. /STABILIZER, by entering the name in the textbox. Multiple named elements may be entered but must be space separated. The report will look for the specified element type(s) below the named element(s)

The World may be specified by entering /* or World. Leaving the textbox blank will also use the World as the starting point.

3.1.2 Running the Report

Clicking the Run the Report button runs the report and outputs it to the specified location.

3.1.3 Creating a Quick Report – A Worked Example

In the worked example a simple report of the pipe branches in the Zone /PIPES will be produced. The report will be modified to show only branches of specific specs.

Select Utilities>Quick Reports… from the main menu to display the Create a Quick Report form. Check the Term checkbox and enter BRAN in the Type textbox.

Enter HBORE GE 100 in the With textbox. This will only include those branches in the report whose head bore is greater or equal to 100mm.

In the Columns textbox enter NAME PSPEC HBORE HCON HPOS TBORE TCON TPOS CLLE, i.e. name, pipe specification, head bore head connection, head position, tail bore, tail connection, tail position and centreline length.

In the Hierarchy textbox enter /PIPES, i.e. the name of the Stabilizer zone containing the pipes. The Create a Quick Report form should now look like this:

Click the Run the Report button to output the report to the Command Window (if open) or the AVEVA PDMS Command Output form and check the output.

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Uncheck the Term checkbox and enter C:\temp\Branches.txt in the File textbox.

Click the Run the Report button again. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the file and open it using Notepad or Wordpad. The results should look like this:

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Click the Run the Report button again and check the results in the editor. Click the Dismiss button on the Create a Quick Report form.

Exercise 2 – Quick Reports

• Create a quick report for all nozzles in the EQUIP zone of the Stabilizer Plant. The report must include its owners name, the nozzle name, the nozzle nominal bore, the nozzle position and orientation and the connection reference, if any.

• Output the report to the Command Window and then to a file named Nozzles.txt.

• Use the With textbox to report only nozzles with a nominal bore of 100mm or greater. Output the report to the same file as 2 above.

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CHAPTER 4

4 Report Templates

Reports that are required to be run regularly or standard reports that are used from project to project may be run from a saved Report template.

Report templates have better formatting options than Quick Reports, sub-totals and totals may be added, the data may be sorted on one or several columns, units may be specified for numeric columns and headers, footers and summaries may be added to the report. Reports templates may also be output in comma separated value (csv) format.

Selecting Utilities>Reports from the main menu displays a sub-menu with the following options:

• Run… - this option displays the Run Report… file browser that enables the user to select a previously defined report to run. By default, the browser opens in the directory specified by the % PDMSREPDIR% environment variable and is usually located at <pdms_installed_dir>\pdmsui\reports where

<pdms_installed_dir> is the PDMS installed directory.

• Create… - this option displays the New Report Template form. See section 3.2.1 for details of how to use this form.

• Modify… - this option displays the Modify Report… file browser that enables the user to select a previously defined report to modify. Once the template has been selected, clicking the Open button on the file browser opens the Modify Report Template form. This form is the same as the New Report Template form except that it is pre-populated with the selected template’s definition.

• Delete… - this option displays the Delete Report… file browser that enables the user to select a previously defined report to delete. Once the template has been selected, clicking the Open button on the file browser displays a confirmation message prior to deleting the file.

4.1 Creating a New Report Template

The New Report Template form is divided into three areas that set the Destination for the report, the Selection of the element types, filter criteria and report start point and an area to define the report Columns.

The three areas are detailed in the following sections:

4.1.1 Destination

The Destination area of the form contains radio buttons to set the destination of the report and, if written to a file, how the file is to be handled.

Selecting the Screen radio button will write the report to the Command Window, if open, or to an AVEVA PDMS Design Command Output window, which opens automatically, if the Command Window is not open. Selecting the Overwrite radio button will write to the report to the filename specified in the Filename

textbox. If the file does not exist, it is created. If the file does exist it will be overwritten with no warning. Selecting the New radio button will write to the report to the filename specified in the Filename textbox. If the file does not exist, it is created. If the file does exist a confirmation message is displayed:

Clicking the Yes button overwrites the existing file and clicking the

No button aborts the writing of the report.

Selecting the Append radio button will write the report to the filename specified in the Filename textbox. If the file does not exist, it is created. If the file does exist it is opened and the report appended to the file. The destination pathname and filename are entered into the Filename textbox.

If the report destination is a file and there is no filename in the Filename textbox the following error is displayed:

If the user does not have write access to the destination pathname to create a file, a suitable warning message is displayed.

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4.1.2 Selection

The Selection area of the form enables the contents and scope of the report to be specified. It contains Type(s) and With textboxes that function in the same way as described for Quick Reports, see Chapter 3, as well as a Hierarchy textbox and button.

Clicking the Hierarchy… button displays the Hierarchy form.

The form list displays any elements that are specified to be included in the report. The WORLD is the default element.

Clicking the Add CE button adds the current element to the list. Clicking the Remove button removes the highlighted element from the list.

Any elements entered in the hierarchy list will override any options set in the Volume or From options lists.

4.1.2.1 Using the Volume Options

The Volume options list enables a Report Volume to be specified and has the following options:

• Off – this option turns the use of a Report Volume off.

Completely Within… - specifying this option means that any elements of the specified type(s) found must lie completely within the Report Volume.

• Partially Within… - specifying this option means that any elements of the specified type(s) found may lie only partially within the Report Volume.

Selecting either the Completely Within… or Partially Within… option displays the Report Volume form. Co-ordinates for opposing corners of the Report Volume box may be entered in the appropriate From: and to: textboxes.

Alternatively, the options from the form menus may be used to determine the Report Volume co-ordinates.

Whichever of these options is used, the From and to co-ordinates are auto-filled on the Report Volume form and may be manually adjusted, if required.

Report Volume - General Form Menu

The General form menu has the following options:

• CE – this option sets the Report Volume to the limits of the CE.

• Clear CE – this option sets the Report Volume to the limits of the CE plus a small clearance. • Owner – this option sets the Report Volume to the limits of the owner of the CE.

All options show a limits box, in the Aids colour, around the Report Volume and display the co-ordinates in the appropriate From and To textboxes.

Report Volume - Cursor Form Menu

The Cursor form menu has the following options to define the opposing corners of the Report Volume:

• Elements – this option prompts for the identification of two elements, using the cursor. Having selected two elements, pressing the Esc key ends the selection. The volume is determined using the origins of the selected elements.

• Design Points – this option prompts for the selection of Design Points, e.g. Ppoints, Pane vertices, construction pin, etc., using the cursor. Having selected two Design Points, pressing the Esc key ends the selection

• Plines – this option prompts for the selection of Plines, using the cursor. Having selected two Plines, pressing the Esc key ends the selection. The volume is determined using the start points of the selected Plines.

• 3D Picks – this option prompts for 3D Positions to be picked, using the cursor. Essentially, four 3D positions must be identified, two for each opposing corner of the volume. The view direction of the 3D View must be orthogonal and to assist in the selection the viewing direction changes automatically after the first and third picks to a direction perpendicular that at which these picks were made. The view direction changes back to the original direction after the second and fourth picks, for example:

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If the 3D positions are picked in a non-orthogonal view an error message is displayed.

• 2D Picks – this option prompts for2D positions to be picked from an orthogonal view. Two points are required, one for each opposing corner of the volume. Two of the co-ordinates for each point are derived from the 2D pick and the co-ordinate is derived from the current working plane.

If the 2D positions are picked in a non-orthogonal view an error message is displayed.

Report Volume - Intersections Form Menu

Points for the opposing corners of the Report Volume may be specified as being at the intersection of two directional design items picked from the 3D View.

The Intersections form menu has the following options to define the opposing corners of the Report Volume

• Grid Lines… - this option displays the Volume from Grid form:

The form works in conjunction with rectangular User Grid Systems and displays any currently defined rectangular grids in the Grid Systems area of the form.

Selecting a Grid System changes the settings in the Limits From and To areas of the form to reflect the values of the current grid and places a ‘bounding box’ around the entire volume of the grid in the 3D View.

The From and To co-ordinates may be specified by selecting a gridline from the grid axes options lists. The selected point will be at the intersection of the specified grid lines. The position may be refined by entering a +ve or –ve value in the +/-

textboxes adjacent to the grid axes options lists to modify the point by the specified distance along the specified axis. Alternatively, the Pick buttons may be used to specify a From or To point graphically using the grid.

Clicking the buttons activates the Positioning Control toolbar, however, to select a position graphically the required grid must be displayed using the User Grid Systems form.

• Element – this option has a sub-menu that enables two directional elements to be selected whose intersection will define the point. The Design Point and Pline options have similar sub-menus.

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If the picked items lie in different planes so they do not actually intersect, the derived point will be at the intersection of the projection of the second item onto the first.

4.1.2.2 Using the From Options

The From options list enables elements to be selected from different sources. If the Hierarchy list is empty and no volume is specified the following options are available:

• MDB – this option selects elements of the specified type in all databases of the current MDB. A confirmation message is displayed prior to the operation:

• Drawlist – this option selects all elements of the specified type that are in the Drawlist.

• Obstruction List - this option selects all elements of the specified type that are in the Obstruction List.

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CE will be reported.

4.1.3 Columns

Every report consists of a number of columns that contain data for the selected element types(s). The Column area of the New Report Template form enables the columns to be specified together with their layout, sorting, display units, sub-totalling and totalling. The area contains a list where the columns, and information about them, will be displayed when specified and four buttons, for creating, modifying, moving and deleting columns. Their use is detailed in the following sections.

4.1.3.1 Creating New Columns

Clicking the New… button on the New Report Template form displays the Creating Column form.

A valid attribute, pseudo attribute or expression for the selected element type(s) may be entered in the Expression textbox.

The expression may contain mathematical and string manipulation operators.

The Sorting options list contains different sorting methods for alphanumeric and numerical column content.

The report may be sorted on more than one column. If sorting is specified for a column it is given a Precedence number which determines the order in which the columns will be sorted, i.e. 1 being the first column to be sorted, 2 the second column to be sorted, etc.

The sorting precedence will appear in the Precedence options list. If the report is sorted on more than one column the precedence may be modified by selecting a different precedence number from the options list.

The Units options list contains different unit options, both metric and imperial, for length, area and volume.

The Any/mm units may be used for any other measurement unit, e.g. weight, the values for which will be in kilograms.

Alphanumeric columns do not require units to be set.

Clicking the Column Layout… button displays the Layout for Column <n> form, where <n> is the sequential number of the column in the Columns list. The form has four main areas where different aspects of the column layout may be specified.

Layout area

The Spaces before column textbox enables the number of spaces before the column contents are displayed to be specified. The default is 2.

The Column Width textbox enables a number of characters for the column width to be specified. If the column entry is longer than the column width it will be truncated at the specified number of characters. Leaving the Column Width textbox blank (the default) sets the column width to the longest column entry in the report is used as the column width.

The Justify options list enables the column entry to be

Left, Right or Centre justified.

By default, alphanumeric columns are left justified and numeric columns are right justified. Numeric Display area

The Numeric Display area enables the formatting of numeric columns to be specified. The values may be output as Decimal or Fractions by selecting the appropriate radio button.

If Decimal is selected the Decimal Places textbox enables the number of decimal places to be specified. The default is 2.

If Fraction is selected the Denominator textbox enables the denominator for the fraction may be specified. The default is 64.

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• PDMS – this option formats feet and inch output as 12'05.11/16. The default setting is US.

The Leading Zeroes options list enables leading zeroes for the output to be On (the default) or Off. Text Display area

The Text Display area enables unset text and column headings to be specified.

A text string may be entered in the Unset Text textbox. This string will be displayed whenever a column value is unset. The textbox is blank by default.

The Headings options list enables column headings to be set On, Off or by Page. The Page option is used in conjunction with PageInfo options, see section ???.

The Heading Text radio buttons enable the type of heading text to be specified. The following options may be selected:

• Expression Text – this option uses the expression text entered in the Expression textbox on the Creating Column form.

• Default – this option uses the PDMS attribute name, where possible. This may be the same as the expression text.

• Custom – this option enables multiple lines of text to be entered in the activated Custom text textbox. Values, Totals and Subtotals

At the bottom of the form three options lists may be used to specify how the values of the columns will be displayed.

The Values options list has the following options:

• On – this option displays the column expression for each element included in the scope of the report. • Off – this option displays no values for the column.

• Sub – this option displays a value only when a subtotal is created.

• 1st – this option is only available if the column is sorted and enables only the first instance of the column expression value to be displayed until the value changes.

The default value is On.

The Totals options list has two options, On and Off (the default). If set to On numeric columns will be totalled at the bottom of the report. Totalling has no affect on alphanumeric columns.

The Subtotals options list has a variable amount of entries depending on how many columns are sorted. The default value is Off, i.e. no subtotals will be displayed. Subtotalling has no affect on alphanumeric columns.

See section 4.2.1 for details of totals and subtotals.

Clicking the OK button on the Layout for Column <n> form saves the column layout settings. Clicking OK

on the Creating Column form saves the column details and displays it in the list on the Create New Template form.

4.1.3.2 Modifying Columns

Selecting a column in the list and clicking the Modify… button on the New Report Template form displays the Modifying Column <n> form, where <n> is the column number.

The form is identical in functionality to the Creating Column form described earlier and all aspects of the column definition may be modified.

The Previous Column and Next Column buttons may be used to navigate between the columns

4.1.3.3 Moving Columns

Selecting a column in the list and clicking the Move… button on the New Report Template form displays the Move Column form. The current column number is displayed and the To options list displays the column numbers. Selecting a column number from the options list re-orders the columns with the current column in the selected location.

4.1.3.4 Deleting Columns

Selecting a column in the list and clicking the Delete button displays a confirmation message.

Clicking the Yes button deletes the column and clicking the No button retains the column.

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4.1.4 Running a System Command

The System Command text box on the New Report Template form enables a system command to be entered that will be run when the report has been completed.

For example, this option could be used to send the report output to a printer, to open another program to display the report or to run a macro to process the report.

The command is entered as an expression in single quotes. Other programs executables that are called must be in the search path or their search path must be explicitly given. Filenames passed as arguments must also have their full paths given unless they are in the search path.

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4.1.5 Creating a Report Template – A Worked Example

This worked example creates a simple report of quantities of piping components in the AVEVA Plant Stabilizer training project.

4.1.5.1 Creating the Report

Select Utilities>Reports>Create… from the main menu to display the New Report Template form Leave the Destination set to Screen.

Enter BRAN MEMBERS in the Type(s) textbox and press the Return key.

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Click the Hierarchy… button on the New Report Template form to display the Hierarchy form.

Select WORLD from the list and click the Remove button to empty the list.

Click the OK button to set an empty hierarchy list and dismiss the form. On the New Report Template form enter CE in the Hierarchy textbox and press the Return key.

In the Column section of the New Report Template form, select the

<end> entry to highlight it and click the New… button at the bottom of the form to display the Creating Column form.

Enter TYPE in the Expression textbox. This will display the Type attribute of the elements.

Select A to Z (Ignore Case) from the Sorting options list. This will sort this column in ascending alphanumeric order, ignoring the case of the text.

Note that a 1 is displayed in the

Precedence options list. This means that the report will be sorted on this column first.

Click the OK button on the Creating Column form.

The TYPE column is displayed in the list at the bottom of the New Report Template form:

Select the <end> entry in the list again and click the New… button to display the Creating Column form again.

Enter DTXR in the Expression textbox and select A to Z (Ignore Case) from the Sorting options list. The Precedence options list will be set to 2 automatically. Click the OK button on the Creating Column form and note that the new column is added to the list on the New Report Template form.

Repeat the procedure to create three more columns, entering MTXX , ITLE and

QUANTITY respectively in the Expression textbox.

None of the new columns needs to be sorted.

The New Report Template form should now look like this.

Note that the sort precedence is shown in the list after the expression.

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4.1.5.2 Running the Report

Close the Command Window, if open. Navigate to the Zone /PIPES in the Site /STABILIZER. Make the Pipe /150-A-3 the CE.

Click the Apply button on the New Report Template form.

An AVEVA PDMS Design Command Output form opens and displays the report.

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In the Destination area of the form click the New radio button and enter C:\temp\Branch_Members.txt in the Filename textbox.

Click the Apply button on the New Report Template form again. This time the report is sent to the specified filename and not to the screen. Locate the file in Windows Explorer and open it with a suitable editor. The report should look like this: