and Models of Manufacturing Systems -- Concept of Near-Optimal Control -- Models of Manufacturing Systems -- Optimal Control of Manufacturing Systems: Existence and Characterization -- Optimal Control of Parallel-Machine Systems -- Optimal Control of Dynamic Flowshops -- Optimal Controls of Dynamic Jobshops -- Risk-Sensitive Control -- Near-Optimal Controls -- Near-Optimal Control of Parallel-Machine Systems -- Near-Optimal Control of Dynamic Flowshops -- Near-Optimal Controls of Dynamic Jobshops -- Near-Optimal Risk-Sensitive Control -- Conclusions -- Further Extensions and Open Research Problems.

This book is concerned with hierarchical control of manufacturing systems under uncertainty. It focuses on system performance measured in long-run average cost criteria, exploring the relationship between control problems with a discounted cost and that with a long-run average cost in connection with hierarchical control. A new theory is articulated that shows that hierarchical decision making in the context of a goal-seeking manufacturing system can lead to a near optimization of its objective. The approach in the book considers manufacturing systems in which events occur at different time scales.