In this paper, the problem of machine replacement in a changing technological environment is formulated as a problem in modern control theory. The objective is to maximize the present value of all future net profits over a class of infinite chains of machines where each link in the chain...

We deal with a single or parallel machine manufacturing system with convex cost of holding and backlogging and develop a new rigorous analysis to address the problem. We provide the results needed for the vanishing discount approach used for aour analysis. In particular, we show that one can go...

This paper presents an extension of earlier research on heirarchical control of stochastic manufacturing systems with linear production costs. A new method is introduced to construct asymptotically optimal open-loop and feedback controls for manufacturing systems in which the rates of machine...

This paper is concerned with an asymptotic analysis of hierarchical production and setup scheduling in a stochastic manufacturing system consisting of a single failure-prone machine and facing constant demands for a number of products. At any given time the system can only produce one type of...

We present some insights obtained from the considerable research that has accumulated in proving that a hierarchical decomposition based on the frequencies of occurence of different types of events in the system results in near-optimal decisions as the rates of some events become large compared...

This paper deals with an asymptotic analysis of hierarchical production planning in stochastic manufacturing systems consisting of a single or parallel failure-prone machines producing a number of different products without attrition. The objective is to choose production rates over time in...

Recently, the production control problem in stochastic manufacturing systems has generated a great deal of interest. The goal is to obtain production rates to minimize total expected surplus and production cost. This paper reviews the research devoted to minimum average cost production planning...

This paper is concerned with optimal production rates for a failure-prone machine that produces two distinct part types. We consider the problem of controlling production rates so as to minimize the expected long-run average cost of product surpluses over time. We assume constant per unit...

This paper presents an asymptotic analysis of hierarchical manufacturing systems with stochastic demand and machines subject to breakdown and repair as the rate of change in machine states approaches infinity. This situation gives rise to a limiting problem in which the stochastic machine...