An algorithm for the computer control of a flexible manufacturing system

Abstract The problem of production management for an automated manufacturing system is described. The system consists of machines that can perform a variety of tasks on a family of parts. The machines are unreliable, and the main difficulty the control system faces is to meet production requirements while the machines fail and are repaired at random times. A multilevel hierarchical control algorithm is proposed which involves a stochastic optimal control problem at the first level. Optimal production policies are characterized, and a computational scheme is described.