Legible pipeline identification is a crucial factor for work safety and the operation and maintenance of industrial installations. Many European and international standards require that pipelines are marked with a color identifying the type of transferred agent, and a directional arrow indicating the direction of flow. It is important for the colour code and directional arrows to be visible from all sides of the pipeline. For additional identification descriptive or encoded plates can be used to specify media parameters.  

The pipe marking should be mounted frequently enough to be always clearly visible esp. in areas which are ambiguous ie. near a branching, before and after equipment or fittings and also in places where it can make the operation of the installation more efficient.