Sunburst Chart

A sunburst chart is a multi-level, radial visualization used to represent hierarchical data. It’s composed of concentric rings, where each ring represents a level in the hierarchy. The chart is like a pie chart with layers: the center circle is the top-level category, and outer rings represent deeper subcategories or levels. 🔍 Structure of a Sunburst Chart Center (root node): The highest-level category or entity (e.g., a process, plant, or system). Arcs or slices: Represent subcomponents or child nodes. Size of arcs: Can be proportional to a value (like energy flow, cost, downtime, etc.). Color: Often used to indicate status, category, or performance (e.g., red = alarm). 🏭 Why Sunburst Charts are Useful for Process Information Dashboards in Critical Industries Critical industries (e.g., energy, chemical, pharma, water, oil & gas) deal with complex, hierarchical systems like: Plants → Units → Equipment → Sensors Sites → Lines → Machines → Components Sunburst charts offer several key benefits: ✅ Benefits for Critical Industries Benefit Explanation Visual hierarchy Easily shows how components are structured from top-level assets down to granular elements. Compact overview Displays a lot of nested information in a single view without overwhelming users. Status awareness Color-coding can instantly highlight which part of a system is underperforming or in alarm. Drill-down capability Users can click on segments to zoom into deeper layers (ideal for interactive dashboards). Comparison across levels Enables comparison of performance or flow across branches of a hierarchy. 📊 Example Use Cases Power Generation: Center: Plant First ring: Turbine, Boiler, Generator Second ring: Subsystems like bearings, pressure valves, etc. Values: Efficiency, load, or alarms. Water Treatment: Center: Treatment Plant Rings: Inlet, Filtration, Disinfection, Outflow Status: Water quality metrics, chemical dosing levels. Oil & Gas: Center: Platform Rings: Wells, pipelines, sensors Visualize flow rates or production levels. 🧠 Integration in PI Vision Dashboards If you're working with PI System and PI Vision, a Sunburst+ custom symbol can help: Visualize AF (Asset Framework) hierarchies. Color segments using multistating rules (e.g., PI tags in alarm). Dynamically load based on asset selection or criteria. Show tooltips with current values, limits, or trends. 🚀 Summary A sunburst chart is a powerful tool for critical industries because it helps summarize hierarchical process information visually, detect issues quickly, and support fast navigation through complex systems. For PI Vision users, it’s a natural fit for interactive, real-time monitoring dashboards.