Marking pipes has become a critical part of most facility identification
programs. During an emergency having properly identified pipes
improve response time. Marked pipes let workers safely trace a process
problem and get production back on line faster. They improve the
productivity of employees, vendors and supervisory staff.
In addition, they improve the appearance of your facility, giving
it a professional, well organized appearance.
Several standards are used as guidelines to labeling pipes. The
ASME A13.1 standard is the most widely used. This is the same standard
as defined by ANSI A13.1. Another common standard, published by
the International Institude for Ammonia Refrigeration (IIAR), is
used for marking pipes in ammonia refrigeration systems. Other standards
apply to specialized applications, such as medical gases.
The purpose of a standard, such as those used for pipe marking,
is to assist in the identification of hazardous materials carried
in piping systems. They make employees, emergency response and safety
personal aware of the hazards of pipe contents when released into
the environment.
Pipes are defined as conduits for the transport of gases, liquids,
semi-liquids or fine particle dust.
When installing pipe markers, sometimes referred to as pipe identification
labels, several label design factors are important:
1. The label must be of a minimum length in relationship
to the diameter of the pipe it is applied to.
2. The lettering on the pipe marker must be of a minimum
size in relationship to the diameter of the pipe the label is applied
to.
In other words, you can not use a label that is too small, and
the label can not have text that would be so small as to be hard
to read. Pipe labels need to be large enough to be easly read from
the normal distance you'd expectthem to be viewed from.
3. Labels are color coded based on the type of hazard posed
by the pipe contents. This allows workers and emergency response
personal to easily and quickly evaluate the hazard presented by
the contents of the pipe.
4. Pipe markers must be located so that they are readily
visible from the point of normal approach.
5. The label material and method of attaching it to the
pipe, must be appropriate for the pipe and evironmental conditions.
For example, one type of label material can be used for a smooth,
plastic pipe located indoors. A different type of material would
need to be used for a rough surfaced pipe that may be exposed to
sodium hydroxide contained in a cleaning solution.
Let's look at each of these:
Pipe Marker Length
Pipe Marker Text
Pipe Marker Color
Pipe Marker Location
Pipe Marker Material Selection
Pipe Marking tutorial by Steve Hudgik
