Cost Effectiveness of Supervisory Control Systems

Effectiveness of supervisory control systems for pipeline application is discussed. An industry survey of 74 existing systems shows the relationship between costs and effectiveness. The results of the survey are discussed and compared to several reference articles on electronic system design and performance. A plan to predict cost effectiveness is shown. Improvements in supervisory control equipment performance could come from 1) integrated circuits, 2) parallel low-speed data paths, 3) code structure compatible with standard computer-communication interface practices.