All of this reminds me of Channels and Pools in MASCOT
http://async.org.uk/Hugo.Simpson/MASCOT-3.1-Manual-June-1987...
Having been involved in the delivery of a complex distributed software system designed using MASCOT, I can attest to it being instrumental in the creation of one of the most robust pieces of software I've ever seen. Consistently topping the System Prime's quarterly metrics for up-time.