Editor Allan Leibowitz comments on the news of the week

While our core focus is forklifts, clearly the machinery is pretty useless without people to operate it. (Perhaps with the exception of AGVs, but even robots need people to program them.) There are a few articles this week which highlight the human aspect of materials handling. We have a report from Australia about the need for forklift skills, especially for the more demanding applications of the equipment. Then, in the Your Focus blog, Ruth Edwards looks at some practical steps to develop a diverse recruitment approach in the face of skills shortages. Finally, we report on DB Schenker's use of an AGV to free up its experienced drivers for more advanced activities. So, this week - as always, people matter.