Introduction

Abstract

In the increasingly competitive modern world, the industrial sector faces new challenges of improving productivity and reducing costs. To achieve this goal, more and more often the dynamic behaviour of process must be analysed and dynamic optimisation performed. Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems are routinely used in process industries to perform the tasks of information processing and control. Owing to the progress in electronics, communication and computer hardware and software, these systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated, therefore facilitating implementation of more advanced algorithms. Different industries have been adapting to these changes at different rates. Often, implementation of advanced supervisory control has been constrained by the available speed of information processing in SCADA systems as compared to process dynamics. This situation is rapidly changing. Faster processes are becoming available for optimisation. An example is power generation, where in recent years there has been substantial interest in the application of supervisory (e.g., predictive) control.