The objective of this dissertation is to enhance the overall understanding of practical manufacturing systems primarily through queueing theory. Queueing theory is commonly used to evaluate the performance of manufacturing systems. A machine on the shop floor is subject to different kinds of interruptions. By systematically classifying different kinds of interruptions, suitable queueing models are proposed. The behavior of manufacturing systems is explored by first investigating the underlying structure of tandem queues. The identified structures, termed the intrinsic gap and intrinsic ratio,...