WMO Marine Services Course Template

Improving services should be a focus of everyone involved in delivering marine or any other weather related services where life and property are at risk. Whether you are a forecaster, a manager, or an administrator within your organization, this course will raise your level of awareness of international standards set by the WMO and allow you to take a critical look at how your services match those standards.

Before taking a look at specific marine service delivery elements, you'll first take a broader look at your organization in the context of the WMO Strategy on Service Delivery. The 16th WMO Congress approved this strategy to support NMHSs in their efforts to improve services and move towards a more service-oriented culture, a culture where the priorities of the customer, the end-user of forecast information, comes first. 

Much of the course then revolves around understanding and applying the WMO regulations and service delivery framework outlined in WMO-No. 471: Guide to Marine Meteorological Services and WMO-No. 558: Manual on Marine Meteorological Services. You will be asked to read sections of these documents and compare your organization's service delivery to those outlined in the documents. Your work will be captured in a series of documents that will make up a portfolio for your Marine Service Delivery Context Analysis. This analysis, the capstone outcome of the course, provides opportunity to identify areas for improvement in the delivery of your marine services. 

The Course Forum is used by the instructors to post information and reminders about the course and for participants to ask questions. Throughout the duration of the course, use this forum to post any general questions or comments. All participants are subscribed to this forum and will receive an email whenever there is a new post.

Review the Course Guide and the following resources to learn more about participating in this course:

Before continuing, please review and update your Profile. Your personal information is required for issuing course completion certificates. Click the link below for directions on updating your Profile:

Here is your first required assignment: Use the following forum to post a brief overview of:

1. 1. Where you work
   2. What your role is in relation to marine services
   3. What interests you in participating in this course

Your second required assignment is to submit the following questionnaire. The responses will only be seen by the course instructors. The information will be used to better understand your job responsibilities and your organization as they relate to this course.

Third Assignment - Case Study and Discussion

The Rabaul Queen, a passenger ferry, capsized and sank in the waters of the Vitiaz Strait, between the New Guinea mainland and New Britain, during an active monsoon burst on 2 February 2012. The performance of the forecast team in this example was excellent, but a weather-related disaster occurred regardless. This allows us to examine how other factors, including user-related issues, can interact and affect the outcome.  How can we make lives safer and improve user outcomes in our service design?  The Inquiry report is also a remarkable document: it is a very detailed, vivid, and thought-provoking account of a series of events that led to the disaster.

Please download and read the case study summary. The discussion forum contains some questions for discussion and reflection.