The IFAC INCOM 2018 SIMCA Special Session is aimed to bring together scientists working in all branches of control theory to discuss, in the light of manufacturing control problems, issues relating to development of the theory and methodology of identification, corresponding mathematical problems, parameter and non-parametric identification, structure identification and expert analysis, problems of selection and data analysis, control systems with an identifier, identification in intelligent systems, simulation procedures and software for identification and modeling, cognitive issues of identification, verification and problems of software quality for complex systems, global network resources of support processes of identification, modeling, and control.