Reading Tow-Path Conflicts on a Hand-Drawn Apron Diagram
Log exports show delays; a pencil sketch of tow routes shows why. We still start every traffic mapping engagement with paper before pixels.
Before we open any charting software, the first day on site includes a hand-drawn apron diagram on grid paper. Analysts walk the tow paths with ramp staff and mark vehicle flows in pencil — erasable when someone says "no, the bus comes from the east on Tuesdays."
Digital logs tell you that aircraft X waited six minutes between off-blocks request and actual movement. The sketch tells you a fuel bowser was parked in the hold area because the designated staging spot was occupied by a disabled GPU cart. Both truths belong in the final folio, but only the sketch survives the briefing when directors ask "show me where."
We photograph the annotated paper, trace it cleanly in the chart room, and overlay timestamp dots from the log export. The green conflict zones on the finished chart always trace back to a circle someone drew on site within the first hour.
For airports planning stand changes, ask your team to sketch next season's tow routes before you commit to the CAD update. The pencil version catches habits that CAD layers miss.