5. Determining quantitative requirements

At first sight, it can often seem difficult to determine the need for forklift trucks, so varied is their use and so wide their area of activity.

We can't study the commitment of this type of equipment without also considering that of the man who uses it. Increasingly, however, the latter is performing a wide variety of tasks that do not require the use of a forklift. This is especially true for warehouse trucks, but also for many others, such as those used on receiving or shipping docks. The same is true of equipment, usually pedestrian-operated, used by assembly line workers to stock up on parts and components for assembly. In this case, the calculation of requirements is very similar to that of the various tools used in production workstations. As a general rule, it can be said that the commitment of people takes precedence over that of equipment. This is the...