A major challenge in designing and controlling flow lines is to achieve high customer service level while stay lean. Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing approach has triggered various 'pull production system', such as CONWIP or Kanban control, that emphasizes on response to demand rather than forecasts. In this dissertation, we identified, documented the anatomy of various pull type control policies and compared their performances. Based on the analysis, we designed a new class of control policy called Extended CONWIP Kanban control (ECK). We developed a state space comparison methodology to compare various policies with that of optimum solution. Our analysis reveals that our ECK policy provides the most adjustment flexibility toward the optimum. Our simulation and case study verify the advantages and utilities of the ECK policy. Beside the cost savings, another major advantage of the ECK policy is its robustness. That is, the total cost of the ECK policy is less sensitive to demand or system variations.