Watch the furnace recipe in progress whilst trucks automatically supply it with {0} and coal. Iron slabs produced in a {1} will be stored there until trucks can find a place for them to be delivered. Later, you will be able to unlock and build conveyor belts to deliver iron directly to your production buildings or storage.
Most of your machines and buildings are assigned a priority. The lower the number the higher the priority is and the more likely they get power, unity, workers, maintenance and more. So having the most critical infrastructure on an increased priority is a great way to go.
From time to time, your island might get into a crisis – fuel running out, no power, low maintenance, etc. Obviously, it is never your fault. It’s always caused by the people on the island doing a bad job. However, there are ways to avoid some of the issues early on.