Yeah...that's... Nope, I'm in the dark, too. This is pretty much how it's described in the game. I still don't get how they work. If you could dumb it down a few notches (or provide a visual guide?) that might help.
I have no idea what the "logic" behind these things is (I never was good with computers) so it's even more confusing when you introduce the inspector panels. All I understand is that they show a value (like how much of something, such as fuel, is in a certain place), but that's it.