How to Perform a Technical Audit of the PI System

How to Perform a Technical Audit of the PI System

A PI System can be online and collecting data while still carrying hidden technical debt, fragile dependencies, and configuration risks. This guide provides a practical framework for auditing the full PI data path, from collection and historian configuration through AF, calculations, PI Vision, and downstream consumers. The goal is not to produce a long list of findings. It is to establish a defensible baseline, identify the highest-risk gaps, and build a prioritized remediation roadmap.

What You'll Learn:

How to Scope a PI Technical Audit

Define the systems, data paths, and evidence required to assess PI Data Archives, AF, interfaces, calculations, PI Vision, and downstream applications.

Evaluate Collection and Historian Health

Review interfaces, buffering, failover, point configuration, exception and compression settings, data quality, and configuration patterns that can create hidden technical debt.

Audit AF and Calculation Integrity

Identify template drift, broken references, duplicate writers, failed or inconsistent analyses, unclear ownership, and calculation dependencies.

Assess PI Vision and Downstream Trust

Understand where critical tags are used, which displays depend on high-risk data, and how lineage and usage should influence remediation priorities.

Build a Risk-Ranked Remediation Plan

Turn audit evidence into a practical gap register with operational impact, priorities, owners, and a 30 / 90 / 180-day improvement roadmap.

Type: Technical Guide
Reading Time: 10 min read