A suggested way of thinking of this is the idea of the factory
system with different icons representing functions within the factory. (I
think that came from Chuck McManis on Usenet.) It seemed simple and
straightforward and representable in an iconic fashion. Imagine the idea
of clicking on an icon to get a program running that handles one or more
services within the factory. That program would need to activate new icons
within the factory that could be queried by the user (click the icon and it
can present a menu of functions, say). These icons could then be joined to
represent how a product would move through the factory (connect via pipes,
say). I thought it was kind of a powerful idea!
Point being, we have to start somewhere. I'm not expecting
overnight miracles from this thread, but if I can put the "gleam in the
eye" of some people that could make this work, then I'll have done my job.
As others have said elsewhere, it needs cooperation amongst a lot of people
to make it work.