Industrial engineering – Travel chart usage In facilities layout and material handling studies, what are travel charts primarily used to accomplish?

Introduction / Context:
A travel chart (also called a from-to chart) is a classic industrial engineering tool that summarizes the frequency or load of movements between locations. It is central to facilities layout and material handling design because it reveals high-traffic pairs and wasteful crisscross flows.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Departments or workstations are known (A, B, C, ...).
• From-to movements (trips per shift or load per day) can be measured or estimated.
• The goal is to reduce handling time, distance, and cost.

Concept / Approach:
Engineers tabulate moves from each source to each destination and often multiply by distance to compute a load-distance metric. High-intensity pairs should be placed close together or connected by efficient routes and handling equipment.

Step-by-Step Solution:
List all locations and collect move counts or tonnage between them.Create a square from-to matrix and enter the flows.Compute load-distance = flow * distance for each pair.Prioritize adjacencies for layout or choose routes and handling methods that minimize total load-distance.Iterate the layout or routing until a practical minimum cost plan is reached.

Verification / Alternative check:
Compare total handling cost or distance before and after redesign. A significant reduction validates the routing or placement decisions derived from the chart.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Inventory control difficulties (option b) are better addressed with ABC analysis, reorder point, and EOQ methods rather than a travel chart. Depreciation estimates (option e) are a finance/accounting task, not a travel-chart application. “Analyse material handling” (option a) is true but incomplete; the primary purpose is to use that analysis to plan efficient procedures and routes, making option (c) the most accurate specific answer.

Common Pitfalls:
Using outdated flow data, ignoring peak vs. average flows, and neglecting constraints like safety aisles or one-way traffic rules can lead to suboptimal layouts.

Final Answer:
Plan material handling procedures and select efficient routes/flows