Pipe Markers Improve Safety & Productivity

Pipe markers are labels used on piping systems to identify the contents of the pipe, the direction of flow, and whether or not the contents are hazardous. Pipe markers are used everywhere from apartment buildings to paper mills.

What is a pipe? The ASME/ANSI code defines a pipe as "conduits for the transport of gases, liquids, semi-liquids or fine particulate dust."

How do pipe markers improve safety and productivity? By putting needed information directly at the point of need. For example, unmarked pipes are particularly dangerous when outside services are responding to an emergency. Proper labeling of pipes saves time by showing employees and contractors exactly where they are in the system--they don't need to spend time looking through drawings and reference materials. They also help prevent operational errors and guide service staff in tracing through systems to identify problems.

There are three pipe marking standards are most commonly used. The ASME/ANSI standard is the most widely used guideline. Although ASME and ANSI are separate organizations, they’ve agreed to publish the same pipe marking standard and to identify that standard as A13.1-1996.

A second standard is the NFPA (National Fire rotection Association) 99C-1996 / CGA (Compressed Gas Association) C-9-1988. This standard has guidelines for marking piping containing compressed gas and are most commonly used for medical gas piping.

The third standard is published by IIAR (International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration) and is used for marking piping and components used in ammonia systems.

The purpose of the ASME/ANSI standard is defined as to “assist in identification of hazardous materials conveyed in piping systems and their hazards when released into the environment.” This standard recommends the size of the lettering on the label and the length of the background color field for various pipe diameters. It also recommends label locations. The objective is to have markers that are “located so that they are readily visible to plant personnel from the point of normal approach.”

You can find out more about the ASME/ANSI pipe marking standards in this online pipe markling tutorial.

The NFPA/CGA standard specifies the label location and color coding to be used for compressed gas systems. It also recommends that the label identify the gas and the operating pressure of the piping system.

The IIAR labeling guidelines deal with the special requirements of labeling ammonia systems. In addition to specifying size, color and location of labels, the IIAR system incorporates standard abbreviations that identify the physical state of the ammonia, the pressure and the specific location within the ammonia system. For example, “LIQ” identifies the contents of the pipe as being liquid, and “LTS” identifies the location as the “Low Temperature Suction”.

Information about the IIAR pipe marking guidelines.