Bruce Entwistle (USA)

 

RA-IV Priorities & Roadmap

The team started regularly scheduled meetings in the Fall of 2021 under the new structure of the WMO. Planned activities are centered on four themes – determining the needs or gaps in the region; training/competency building; QMS; and Standardization. The following terms of reference provided guidelines on how the team will work together to accomplish its priorities.

 

2023 Planned ET-AVI Activities

Our Team meets monthly to plan activities throughout the year. Here’s a list of what we hope to accomplish in 2023:

• 2 aviation-themed webinars (likely in July and December)
• 2 Newsletters
• Work closely with ICAO to update/publish SIGMET Guide for RA-III and RA-IV
• Organize a face-to-face seminar for participants from across the region.  We hope to focus on SIGMET best practices, QMS, and/or Competencies.
• Co-chairs for ET-AVI (Mike and Heather) will attend the upcoming Regional Conference of the Regional Association IV (RA-IV) (North America, Central America, and the Caribbean) from February 6-9. This conference will include four-day sessions, in a hybrid format, with the main objective that the RA-IV Permanent Representatives, supported by the chairs of the regional committee and expert teams review the current progress of the Regional Implementation Plan 2022-2023, and discuss the most pressing priorities in line with the focus areas that were proposed for the WMO Strategic and Operational Plans 2024-2027.

 

Ideas to Consider and Gaps to Find from Across RA-IV...

We want your help with ideas the team needs to consider exploring in 2023 and beyond as well as identifying gaps in aviation met services from across our region. Below is the link to a survey form where you can provide ideas for future webinars and topics for RA-IV to focus on in the future and ensure the WMO is aware of. Please take a few moments to fill in the survey.

Link to the survey form: https://forms.office.com/r/Cis0vEpst6

Newsletter Spotlight

Quality Management Services (QMS) in RA-IV

The RA-IV QMS Task Team is charged with the overarching role to facilitate the successful implementation of ISO9001:2015 QMS and certification across RA-IV.^*

Quality must be embedded across the system to afford the users that assurance of conformance to the highest industry standards as promulgated by WMO/ICAO.

This is underpinned by four (4) strategic goals each with primary objectives as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Strategic Goals and Objectives of the QMS Task Team

 

STATUS OF QMS IMPLEMENTATION IN RA-IV

The ET-AVI conducted an online survey during the month of July 2022 and twenty-three (23) valid surveys provided pertinent information on QMS implementation. The survey results revealed that, to date, ten (10) countries have fully implemented the current QMS Standard, ISO9001:2015. Of these, 60% have attained certification. 17 out of the 23 respondents (74%) indicated the presence of a QMS Manager within the Met Service (Figure 2).

NOTE: The columns in the table below are based on the ISO 9001 family of standards with various updates to the family indicated by the calendar year. Example: ISO9001:2008 reflects the current standards being met and that those standards were launched in 2008 by ISO. In the table below, for the sake of space, the standard is reflected by the calendar year of ISO adoption.

Figure 2: 2022 Survey Results.

 

Barriers to QMS Implementation

Twelve barriers or obstacles to QMS Implementation and certification in RA-IV were investigated in the survey. The most critical resource barriers identified were:

• Lack of available personnel to establish a QMS management team.
• Insufficient financial resources allocated for certification.
• Lack of available personnel to perform internal audits
• Lack of quality training or education for a QMS management team.
• Lack of a formal endorsement from management or government to implement or sustain an active QMS.

Figure 3 below highlights ways that both the WMO and ICAO can assist in building and sustaining a robust QMS in RA-IV.

We look forward to more research, updates, and information on how to assist with further implementation of QMS across RA-IV from the QMS team.

Figure 3: Graphical example of QMS-building steps

 

It’s not too late to respond to the QMS Survey!

All feedback submitted will help the ET-AVI QMS team ponder and develop new and inventive ways to get the QMS ball rolling and keep it moving forward. If you are a QMS representative for your organization and have not already filled out the survey, please go to the following link and submit your feedback for your state or agency.

QMS Survey

 

Figure 4: Graphical example showing the possible flow of a meteorological QMS system

 

QMS Team Highlights of Achievements for the Year 2022

During the 6 July 2022 webinar, Ms. Cécil Mitchell presented the results of her thesis work. Additionally, the team worked with the RA-IV co-chairs to distribute the survey immediately following the webinar. A quick overview of the initial result findings was presented to the RA-IV ET-AVI team on the August 2022 monthly call. For more information on these webinars and results, check out the Webinars section below!

^*The QMS Standard is based upon the International Organization of Standards (ISO) Quality Management standard under the 9000 family. For more information, visit https://www.iso.org/iso-9001-quality-management.html.

What is IWXXM?

Following the Twenty-fifth Meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Asia and Pacifica (APAC) Meteorology Sub-Group (MET SG/25) meeting, a document of frequently asked questions (FAQ) about IWXXM was published in October of 2021. The information below is pulled from this document (linked below).  

The ICAO Meteorological Information Exchange Model - commonly mistakenly interpreted as ICAO Weather Information Exchange Model due to the “WX” in the acronym - is a form of human-readable and machine-readable computer code in Extensible Markup Language

(XML). It also uses Geography Markup Language (GML), which is a way of writing geographic information in Extensible Markup Language (XML) in order to share, store and display geographic information.

IWXXM products are used for operational exchanges of meteorological information for use in

Aviation. It includes XML/GML-based representations for current products that are standardized in ICAO Annex 3 and WMO No. 49, Vol II. This includes aviation products such as METARs and SPECIs, TAFs, SIGMETs, AIRMETs, Tropical Cyclone Advisories, Volcanic Ash Advisories, and Space Weather Advisories.

For more information on IWXXM: https://www.icao.int/APAC/Documents/edocs/IWXXM-FAQs_1st-Ed.pdf 

 

Additional presentations on IWWXM:

Webinar on the implementation of IWXXM - B.L. Choy Hong Kong Observatory, Hong Kong, China

IWXXM Brief - Mark Oberfield NOAA/National Weather Service Meteorological Development Laboratory, Maryland, USA

 

Diversity, Inclusion, Equality, Equity

In 2019, the WMO renewed its commitment to gender equality and diversity. At the 18th World Meteorological Conference, it adopted an updated Gender Action Plan (GAP), strengthening the network of gender advocates in the WMO community and marking World Oceans Day with the theme “Gender and oceans”. The RA-IV ET-AVI will continue to support and enforce these policies of equality and diversity. For more information, visit this summary page.

In 2021, WMO conducted a global survey to obtain feedback on the status of gender equality in aeronautical meteorology throughout the WMO Regions. For more information on that survey, please visit:

https://community.wmo.int/activity-areas/aviation/resources/newsletters/2022-2#gender-survey

We would love to hear your stories of diversity, inclusion, equality, and equity. If you’d like to have that story included in a future edition of the newsletter, send your information to Lora.Wilson@noaa.gov.

 

Webinars

The RA-IV ET-AVI team plans to host two webinars each year with specific aviation topics the team would like to see more information about. Below are links to the most recent webinar materials. For access to more archived materials, please see the link in the Resources section below.

December 2022 Webinar materials

July 2022 Webinar materials

The WMO SC-AVI Aviation Training Moodle Site

Submitted by Kathy-Ann Caesar (ET-ETC co-chair)

The WMO Standing Committee on Aviation (SC-AVI) Expert Team on Education, Training and Competency (ET-ETC) has as one of its main responsibilities to oversee, maintain and manage the SC-AVI Aviation Training Moodle site (http://aviationtraining.wmo.int).

The Moodle platform is structured to provide easy access to resources of interest for the aviation meteorological community, aeronautical meteorology training, and guidance materials sourced from around the world. This new structure is focused on Aeronautical Meteorological Personnel (AMP) education, training, and competencies, starting with the WMO framework and reference documents up to implementation examples from service providers in WMO Member States and Territories.  Moodle users are invited to take part in the discussions and to ask questions of the Expert Team under the section ‘AMP Competency Implementation and Assessment Forums’. This is open to anyone, but especially forecasters and observers as well as those involved in implementing competency assessment frameworks and assessing AMP competency.  Currently, discussion forums are open for Moodle users to submit comments and questions on the proposed amendment to the Technical Regulations (WMO-No. 49), Volume I and associated guidance related to AMP qualifications, as well as the updates to the Compendium of WMO Competency Frameworks (WMO-No. 1209).

Aviation Training Course categories Education, Training and Competencies Training resources for Forecasters Quality Management and cost recovery WMO/ICAO aviation documents in official languages Conferences, Workshops and other events Other resources, publications and external links

The topic on training resources is grouped into major topics such as remote sensing, aviation hazards, or aviation products, giving easy access to elements of interest in the professional development of AMP. Recommended methods for forecast verification are also published in the Quality Management category. Some free regulatory and reference documents necessary for aviation meteorology, such as guides, manuals, or handbooks issued by WMO and ICAO, and other professional organizations are freely available to personnel wanting to increase and expand their competencies.

The ET-ETC hopes that the new structure and the available training and guidance materials will be used and useful for the entire community. In this respect, ET-ETC is working hard to keep all resources periodically reviewed and up to date. If you have a request for specific learning resources or you have content you would like to contribute to the portal, please contact the ET-ETC through the relevant discussion forum.

If you don’t yet have a Moodle user account but would like one, please register for free at: https://aviationtraining.wmo.int/moodle/login/index.php.  Click on the "Create new account button" on the right side and follow the instructions. In case of difficulties, please email: aviation@wmo.int.

    Reminders & Coming Events

 

Webinars - ET-AVI plans to host two webinars each year. Below are the anticipated dates of the 2023 webinars

1. July 2023
2. December 2023

WMO Implementation Plan/Regional Conference of RA-IV - 6-9 February 2023

Our co-chairs, Mike and Heather, will be attending in person. It is possible that a link will be provided for others to listen in virtually. Stay tuned for more details.

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Resources

WMO Regional Association IV (RA-IV) Website - Highlights all WMO activities for North America (RA-IV)

WMO RA-IV ET-AVI Website - The official WMO website for RA-IV Expert Team on Services for Aviation (ET-AVI). It  includes the Terms of Reference (ToR) which steers the activities undertaken by our team. .

WMO Aviation Training Moodle Site - This Moodle training portal is provided and maintained by the Expert Team on Education, Training, and Competency (ET-ETC) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Standing Committee on Services for Aviation (SC-AVI). The ET-ETC comprises aeronautical meteorology experts from around the world nominated by WMO Member States and Territories.

WMO Long-term Plan for AerWMO Services for Aviation (SC-AVI) Newsletter Repository for Aeronautical Meteorology (2019) - The long-term plan for aeronautical meteorology (LTP-AeM) is intended to provide a framework upon which aeronautical meteorological service providers (AMSPs) of WMO Members in particular, and the broader meteorology and aviation communities in general, can plan a progressive transformation from a conventional “product-centric” approach to a modern “information-centric” approach to service provision for aviation through to 2030 and beyond.

WMO Services for Aviation (SC-AVI) Site

RA-IV Expert Team on Aviation Services Co-Chairs: Heather Smith - Environment Canada Mike Graf - US NOAA National Weather Service Editor: Lora Wilson - US NOAA National Weather Service