Issues and Updates to the Global Transition to IWXXM

By Pat Murphy FAA/NextGen Aviation Weather Division

Overview

• IWXXM Status • Who is ‘Working’ IWXXM issues? • SWIM & AIXM/FIXM Linkages • Global Implementation • ICAO NAM/CAR Implementation/Planning

Workshop 2017 • US Implementation

OFCM Planning

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IWXXM Status • IWXXM version 2.1 implemented April 2017 • ICAO Annex 3

• November 2016, Amendment 77 Allows the exchange of IWXXM products as

‘recommended’ practice Products include:

TAF METAR & SPECI SIGMET AIRMET Volcanic Ash Advisory Tropical Cyclone Advisory *Space Wx

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IWXXM Status

• ICAO Annex 3 • November 2020* Amendment 78

Will make the [International] exchange of IWXXM products a ‘mandatory’ practice

*A proposal was agreed to the ICAO Meteorology Panel October 2016 to push this date back to Amendment 79 of the Annex 3, i.e. 2020

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Who is ‘Working’ IWXXM Issues?

• ICAO Meteorology Panel Working Group – Meteorological Information

Exchange (WG-MIE) • ICAO Information Management Panel

WG-MIE identified two members to participate in IM Panel meetings

• Pat Murphy FAA • Steve Forman WMO

IM Panel identified two members to participate in WG-MIE meetings

IM Panel sub-groups coordinating with METP experts

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IWXXM Issues Being Addressed

• Use & standards for the inclusion of ‘extensions’ Enabling ‘State’ Extensions

• Key concept of ‘XML’ • Agreed to by METP Oct 2016

Users have stated IWXXM must provide added value over Traditional Alphanumeric Characters (TAC)

• “Freezing” TAC Oct 2016 METP agreed no further development of

Annex 3 TAC product templates • Only for clear safety of flight issues

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IWXXM Issues Being Addressed • Guidance to ICAO Regions on transitioning to

IWXXM When and where translation from TAC to IWXXM

occurs • Only translate once • How to deal with both TAC and IWXXM messages in the

global communications system • Where and who ‘translates’ • Partially translated messages

Validation of IWXXM messages Roles of Regional OPMET Databanks and Centers Developing Regional transition plans and training

workshops

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IWXXM Issues Being Addressed

• Information Resolution Improvements IWXXM has potential for more detail than TAC

messages ‘Better’ information in IWXXM vs TAC

• Will encourage adoption and transition to IWXXM

Example: • METAR uses rounded values

Measured overcast cloud height of 990 feet reported as OVC009

IWXXM can report both the METAR rounded value, as well as the actual measured value for better precision in support of Trajectory Based Operations (TBO)

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IWXXM Linkages

• SWIM IWXXM is a key enabler of SWIM concepts Improved Met information in IWXXM/SWIM SWIM core services will enable systems

• Request and receive information when needed • Subscriptions for automatic receipt • Publishing information and services as appropriate • Promote sharing of information across different systems

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IWWXM Linkages

• METP WG-MIE developing MET SWIM Plan Will be integrated with Overall ICAO SWIM Plan Defines

• Governance • Security • Access • Etc

Need to develop a Change Configuration Board similar to AIXM and FIXM

• Some differences in that IWXXM developed by WMO and ICAO

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IWXXM Linkages

• ICAO Information Management Panel Developing ‘Information Services Concept of

Operations’ • Defines ‘Meteorological Information Services’

• ICAO Aeronautical Communications Panel IWXXM messages won’t transmit over the

Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunications Network (AFTN)

IWXXM Messages will be exchanged over Aeronautical Message Handling System (AMHS)

• Bilateral testing of exchanging IWXXM messages

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Global Implementation

• International exchange of IWXXM messages expected by 2020 Full implementation of SWIM much later than this

• ICAO guidance on transition from TAC to IWXXM going to regions

• How does the world work with both IWXXM and TAC messages?

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ICAO NACC Implementation

• ICAO North American, Central American & Caribbean Regional Office (NACC) Meeting to Enhance State Coordination between

MET, AIM and ATM July 2016 • Reviewed state of MET, AIM, & ATC across the NACC region • Identified areas of needed focus and regional coordination

IWXXM Workshop planned fall 2017 • Identify state of IWXXM development across the region • Identify strategies for transitioning to IWXXM

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U.S. Implementation

• Office of Federal Coordinator for Meteorology (OFCM) Multi-agency group focused on MET

• NOAA/NWS • FAA • DOD • USGS, NASA, etc

Developing U.S. Implementation Strategy and joint agency transition plan

• Key issues/needs initially identified • Plan development expected over 2017-2018

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No Country Left Behind • Yes, Many States will not be able to transition to

IWXXM by November 2020. • Two lanes

Mitigating Impacts to Small States • Guidelines for the Implementation of OPMET

Data Exchange using IWXXM October, 2016 Recommends:

• Bilateral agreements to convert TAC to IWXXM • Establishing Regional IWXXM Translation Centers

Could translate/aggregate TAC to IWXXM for entire region Could translate TAC to IWXXM for states which need

assistance • Developing Regional IWXXM Transition Plans

Information Producer/Originator • TAC Producer

This producer provides TAC data only Translation to IWXXM by producer or other entity

under agreement • IWXXM Producer

Produces both TAC and IWXXM natively (no translation)

• Both TAC and IWXXM will be produced

Data Translation Center • Translates TAC data into IWXXM on behalf of

their State and/or another State Information producer is unable to produce/translate

into IWXXM Under bilateral or regional agreement Metadata indicates who/when translation occurred Some TAC will not be translatable because of non-

conformance with TAC Creates role for ROC/RODB Performs Aggregator functions

Data Aggregator

• Supports ‘Slow Lane’ Takes individual IWXXM messages & aggregates

them into AFTN-like “bulletins” which consist of one or more reports of the same type

• Most Information Producers will also be the aggregator

IROG, ROC, & RODB Roles • Regional Translation Center • Regional Aggregator • Regional Data Switch • Validation?

Other Regional Guidance • Governance

Managing the transition • Intra-regional plan on AMHS infrastructure/links planning and

IWXXM data exchange between the ROCs, and between the ROCs and RODBs.

• Intra-regional implementation plan on IWXXM data exchange planning by the States to their ROC

• Agreement to define how the testing platform and software should be made available and accessible to each State

Documentation • The region will define and have a plan in place to provide

IWXXM data

Other Regional Guidance • Facilities

Action Plan to Reduce Formatting Errors • Monitoring, Reporting, Corrective Actions

Interregional Cooperation/Coordination • Define processes and notification on modifications on

IWXXM bulletins headers between regions • Define clearly the interregional data/bulletins to be

exchanged • Interregional plan to follow the AMHS infrastructure

Other Regional Guidance • Operations

ROCs & IROGs should have the capability to aggregate and switch IWXXM data

ROCs & IROGs may have the capability to act as translation centers

NOCs should to be ready to exchange IWXXM data RODBs should have all the capabilities to deal with

IWXXM data as well as TAC data. adjacent Regions should be in place and tested

• Institutional and Technical Issues • Action Plan about data validation

Other Regional Guidance • Institutional and Technical Issues

Establish Communication plan Procedures to deal with errors in IWXXM messages,

• Including translation errors and native TAC errors • Reporting errors to originating State

• Validation (against the XML schema) Monitoring and gathering of statistics on schema

conformance (rather than meteorological data quality)

Global ICAO IWXXM CCB • ANG-C6 presenting SN to introduce need for

global Change Configuration Board July 10-13,2017 METP WG-MIE/3 Modeled after the global AIXM and FIXM CCBs

developed by FAA/Eurocontrol • http://www.aixm.aero/page/governance • http://www.aixm.aero/sites/aixm.aero/files/imce/library/aixm_c

cb_charter_v1.0.pdf • https://www.fixm.aero/content/fixmccb.pl

Need for global open and transparent management of the IWXXM schema and related documentation

• METP is a very closed membership • Industry involvement also needed

Global ICAO IWXXM CCB • ANG-C6 Proposed CCB for IWXXM:

Change Configuration Board CCB • The CCB is the main body that decides on the evolution of

the schema • CCB Members shall be IWXXM experts with a technical

and/or operational Meteorological Information background • CCB Members shall be representatives of Stakeholder

groups, not of individual Stakeholders

Change Configuration Board Secretariat (CCBS) • The actual drafting of the Change Proposals • maintenance of the IWXXM files and associated

documentation • maintenance of the communication means (Web site,

IWXXM Forum, Change Submission and Tracking System, etc.)

• It is suggested that the role of CCBS could be the WMO Ch i f h TT A XM

FAA/U.S. IWXXM CCB • FAA XM Coordination Group

AIXM FIXM IWXXM

• FAA Enterprise Information Protocol and Exchange Standards (EIPES) XM Use Policy XM Migration Strategy FAA Enterprise Exchange Model Governance Plan

• Governance Structure • Governance Processes