Tagsight vs SmartPlant P&ID-style workflows
Model-centered P&ID workflows hold the project in an intelligent database, with diagrams as one view and tag data as another. Tagsight takes the rendered drawing as input and produces structured tag data directly from it. The two approaches optimize for different points in the lifecycle.
At a glance · Time per drawing
Minutes per drawing for extraction. Engineer time spent on review and judgment, not on transcription or model authoring.
Time-per-drawing depends on how complete the intelligent model is. Drawings outside the model still need manual transcription.
Read one of your own drawings.
Drop a P&ID, instrument index, or schedule. Tagsight reads it to the tag and opens a workspace you keep when you sign in.
PDF · DWG · DXF · TIFF · PNG · XLSX
Comparison.
| Axis | Tagsight | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Time per drawing | Minutes per drawing for extraction. Engineer time spent on review and judgment, not on transcription or model authoring. | Time-per-drawing depends on how complete the intelligent model is. Drawings outside the model still need manual transcription. |
| Revision handling | Two PDF revisions diffed automatically. Change Report exports as MOC-ready Excel. Comparison history saved as audit trail. | Revisions tracked inside the project database. Drawings outside the database are diffed manually. |
| Signal classification consistency | Same classifier runs on every drawing. Convention read from the page, including in-house standards. Ambiguous reads flagged for human review. | Classification consistency depends on how the project database was set up and which engineer authored each tag. Drift across projects is common. |
| Audit trail | Source page, source region, and review decisions stored per tag. Audit trail is queryable and version-controlled. | Audit trail lives in the project database. Drawings predating the database have no equivalent record. |
| Output formats | Excel, CSV, TIA Portal XML, Rockwell L5X, PLCCreator, DEXPI, JSON, and annotated PDF as native exports. | Native exports depend on the modeling-environment build and licensed modules. |
Time per drawing
Minutes per drawing for extraction. Engineer time spent on review and judgment, not on transcription or model authoring.
Time-per-drawing depends on how complete the intelligent model is. Drawings outside the model still need manual transcription.
Revision handling
Two PDF revisions diffed automatically. Change Report exports as MOC-ready Excel. Comparison history saved as audit trail.
Revisions tracked inside the project database. Drawings outside the database are diffed manually.
Signal classification consistency
Same classifier runs on every drawing. Convention read from the page, including in-house standards. Ambiguous reads flagged for human review.
Classification consistency depends on how the project database was set up and which engineer authored each tag. Drift across projects is common.
Audit trail
Source page, source region, and review decisions stored per tag. Audit trail is queryable and version-controlled.
Audit trail lives in the project database. Drawings predating the database have no equivalent record.
Output formats
Excel, CSV, TIA Portal XML, Rockwell L5X, PLCCreator, DEXPI, JSON, and annotated PDF as native exports.
Native exports depend on the modeling-environment build and licensed modules.
When this is the right call.
- Drawing set includes legacy drawings that were never modeled
- Project requires a queryable audit trail without standing up a project database
- Team needs documents, I/O list, equipment list, line list more than diagram authoring
- Multiple revisions are expected with MOC review at each step
When it is not the right call.
- The team's primary work is authoring intelligent diagrams from scratch and a centralized model is required for downstream design tools
FAQ.
Do we need to keep an intelligent P&ID model running to use Tagsight.
No. The input is the rendered drawing, whether PDF or scan. There is no requirement to maintain a project database.
Can we run a parallel pass during a transition.
Yes. The most common pattern is to run both workflows on a project or two, compare outputs, then transition. Extracted data exports to standard formats from day one.
What happens to legacy drawings that were never in the model.
They are supported as input the same way. Scanned PDFs and image inputs are supported. The cleaner the scan, the less you confirm by hand.
Is DEXPI supported as an output.
Yes. DEXPI XML, ISO 15926-based is one of the standard exports.
Does the tag convention need to be configured up front.
No. The convention is read from the drawing. ISA 5.1, KKS, IEC 81346, NORSOK, JIS, GOST, and in-house conventions all work without pre-configuration.