Thanks for the idea Spro!
Let me see if I understand, by marked for upgrade, you mean that bots (or the player) would need to handle the upgrade with an item from the logistic network? Basically you wouldn't get the upgrade for free (like in this mod)?
Regarding activity level, there are a few ways to track it. Would you want to see that as total items made, or by how many hours they've been churning away (regardless of items)?