Collaboration Across the Road Weather Enterprise: The Pathfinder Project

CHAPTER 7. PATHFINDER GUIDANCE

STEP 1: IDENTIFYING PARTNERS

The first step across seasonal, event-centric and on-going coordination is to identify the key partners. Who will be the prime points of contact within the State Department of Transportation (DOT) (from both traffic and maintenance management)? Does the State have private sector weather support? Is there a separate Traveler Information (TI) contractor? For each, the points of contact should be identified. Will the State's emergency manager be involved? Which National Weather Service (NWS) forecast office of offices will be involved? Will one Weather Forecast Office (WFO) serve as the primary point of contact? In addition to identifying the points of contact, determine the best means of communication (e.g., phone, email).

STEP 2: DETERMINING QUALIFYING COLLABORATIONS EVENTS

Once the first step has been completed, it is important to establish collaboration efforts around weather events that will affect travel. Discussions should take place prior to every weather season, and afterward for post-season review. However, a season is not limited to calendar seasons, and the partnership may have established other "hazard seasons" that are particular to the State, e.g., hurricane season, spring flooding season, wildfire season, etc. Many State DOTs hold large pre-winter meetings, but not all seasons need the same scale of meetings; they should be scaled to the weather's impact and response.

STEP 3: SELECT COMMUNICATION MEDIUMS AND SET PROCEDURES

In the pre-season meetings, each entity should meet to establish or review lines of communication (i.e., who communicates with whom), rules of interaction, means of communication (i.e., teleconferences, NWSChat, and websites) responsibilities and operating procedures, and to re-introduce the individual players. Ensure all contact information is accurate and up to date. Set up protocols for when the weather enterprise (NWS and private sector) contacts the DOT (usually pre-event and a storm evolves) and vice versa (to maintain communication, share observations, ask questions, etc.). Site visits are also recommended. All partners should be aware of the potential impacts that the transportation system could face that season and the manner in which the State DOT will work to mitigate those impacts. Share what each agency is doing to prepare, such as making sure critical instrumentation and communications are working and material supplies are in place, and educating forecasters on recent research and techniques.

Prior to and during weather events, each agency has its own list of responsibilities and tasks it undertakes to accomplish its goals. As interactions become a normative part of operating procedures, many of the responsibilities of each agency become shared with the other. During weather events most interactions between partners occur via phone; however, other means of communication can be used, including email and NWSChat. NWSChat can be used to sharequick informational bytes and to plan conference calls between the operational partners. Another advantage to NWSChat is that a log of chatroom activity is automatically archived for easy review.

Furthermore, it may be necessary to conduct a mid-season assessment to review whether the initially designed lines of communication, rules of interaction, responsibilities, and operating procedures are meeting the needs of each entity.

Pathfinder Team Best Practice
Seasonal Coordination Meetings are most effective if held in person. Post-season meetings are just as important as pre-season meetings. Remember to include seasonal partners in meetings.

Figure 10. Photo. A Snow Plow and Other Vehicles Driving in the Snow.
(Source: Wyoming Department of Transportation)

STEP 4: ESTABLISH POINT PERSON AT EACH PARTICIPATING ENTITY

While prime points of contact are identified in Step 1, and lines and means of communication are identified in Step 3, it is important to delve further to obtain a comprehensive plan for keeping track of points of contact from all participating entities. Each entity should keep track of points of contacts from other participating entities along with their best point method of contact (e.g., email, mobile phone, work phone). Additionally, the list should have points of contact based on the hours of operation as well as after operating hours. There may be a contact who is working during normal operating hours, but not after operating hours. Therefore, there is a need to establish a schedule that ensures that someone can be available at all times. Contact information could include availability by hours in a day, as well as which days each contact is available. Furthermore, there should always be a backup point of contact in each time slot in case the main contact is indisposed.

STEP 5: SYNCHRONIZE FORECAST SCHEDULES

Prior to the event, weather entities prepare forecasts and brief each other and the DOT. Their focus is the general character of the storm and its anticipated impacts to the roadway and to motorists. The Department of Transportation (DOT) uses this information to prepare a game plan for mitigating the impacts of the storm through maintenance operations and traffic management. With mitigation plans in mind, the collective group discusses how the event will impact the traveling public and works together to create a shared public message containing details on the upcoming weather - type, location and timing - how that weather will affect traveling on the roads, and recommended actions the public should take to stay safe. An interaction schedule is also set for the rest of the event.

National Weather Service's Weather-Ready Nation

National Weather Services' Weather-Ready Nation is about building community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather and water events. Record-breaking snowfall, cold temperatures, extended drought, high heat, severe flooding, violent tornadoes, and massive hurricanes have all combined to reach the greatest number of multi-billion dollar weather disasters in the nation's history. The devastating impacts of extreme events can be reduced through improved readiness, which is why the Weather-Ready Nation initiative is so important. Through operational initiatives, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service is transforming its operations to help America respond. In the end, emergency managers, first responders, government officials, businesses and the public will be empowered to make fast, smart decisions to save lives and livelihoods. Building a Weather-Ready Nation requires the action of a vast nationwide network of partners including other government agencies and emergency managers, researchers, the media, insurance industry, non-profits, the private sector, the Weather Enterprise and more. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2014).

A shared message between the DOT and NWS is very important for instilling confidence in the public, helping them to make informed decisions and improving safety and mobility during the event.

During the event, collaboration continues throughout the event while it is in progress. Regular cross-agency briefings are used to share observations, mitigation plans and road closure updates, as well as reviewing forecasts for the remainder of the event. During multi-day events, the interaction process becomes repetitive, including forecast updates, recurring briefings, observation sharing and public information updates. Weather forecast messages that are communicated to the public from the NWS and DOT are updated around the same time as each other to maintain consistency between both agencies. Most of the during-storm interactions occur via phone, but NWSChat is used to highlight changes to the message or the forecast and to quickly share observations. Local media may then access these changes via social media outlets and share the updated impact messages through re-posting, updating press releases, etc.

Getting Started Quick Reference Guide: Pre- and During Event Collaboration Guidelines and Procedures

Pre-Event Activities Each entity should prepare their forecasts in order to be prepared to brief the others. Focus should be on General character of the storm. Anticipated impacts to the roadway and motorists. During pre-event briefings, work together to discuss/develop Mitigation plan(s) for maintenance operations and traffic management. Shared public messages, containing details on storm type, potential impacts and impacted locations/infrastructures, and timing. Recommended actions the public should take to stay safe. Interaction schedule for the course of the event. During-Event Activities Hold regular cross-agency briefings to Share observations. Provide updates to any mitigation plans/road closures. Review forecasts. Discuss potential updates to shared impact messages for both content and timing. Review interaction schedule for the remainder of the event. Remember, a consistent, shared message from all sources is important for instilling public confidence and influencing informed decisions to improve safety and mobility.

STEP 6: ESTABLISH DEFINITIONS AND CREATE SHARED RESOURCES

Collaborative relationships take time and cooperation to develop. These relationships are maintained through regular meetings, site visits, collaboration on projects and research. Oftentimes, it is possible to become involved with professional organizations across disciplines. For example, DOT meteorologists and other operations managers could be involved with the local American Meteorological Society chapter, if one exists. Also, shared resources and standard terminology should be established to foster better communication between entities, which will further increase collaboration effectiveness.

There should be a constant effort to improve the message and the collaboration, and as the program matures, other personnel and partners can be included to increase the effectiveness of information dissemination. Relationships with media can improve using yearly media workshops and through involving DOT PIO's in the collaborative effort. Also, DOT field crews and public weather spotters may be alerted to the efforts and encouraged to increase their observations from the field. Further, to ensure the forecast message remains a high-quality and effective product, the partnering meteorological entities will review their forecasts for clarity and accuracy on a regular basis.

Pathfinder Team Performance Management Best Practice

Collaboration should occur during significant events. Below are examples of suggested archiving best practices from the Pathfinder team. Determine what weather forecasting offices will document such as Important NWSChat/email exchanges. Conference calls. Social media posts/tweets/videos/web graphics/weather stories. Determine what the State Department of Transportation/contracted meteorologist will document such as Alerts, traveler advisories, 511-messages. Use of dynamic message signs and variable speed limits. Determine what the entire group will document such as Best practices and lessons learned. Additional resource costs. Benefits to State, public, private sector, and the National Weather Service. Document operating procedures to ensure continuity Develop generic messages for future events. Identify training needs and follow through with training as needed. Capture all policy and procedural changes that occur due to Pathfinder in your agency. Conduct formal post-event meetings. Assess the impacts of Pathfinder implementation via agency performance management systems (e.g., changes in traffic patterns). NWSChat is automatically archived.

Pathfinder Team Best Practice
To reach a consensus on a shared impact message, focus less on the specifics of the forecast and instead strive to reach agreement on: Impact Potential. Location of Potential Impact. Timing of Potential Impact.

STEP 7: CREATE SHARED IMPACT MESSAGE FOR THE PUBLIC

It is important to make sure there is communication between entities when disseminating information to the public. To reduce public confusion, entities should recognize each other's impact messages, which will promote awareness and keep information constant. There are several tools and resources at the disposal of State DOTs and the weather enterprise that can enable expanded reaches of collaborative, shared transportation focused weather messages. On the following page is a summary of the outreach tools used by various Pathfinder team entities to interface with the public on shared road weather impact messages.

National Weather Service:

• Text and Grid Based Forecasts.
• Web Graphics.
• Partner Briefings.
• Social Media.
• NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards.

Department of Transportation:

• Social Media.
• Electronic Message Signs.
• Highway Advisory Radios.
• Digital Subscription Alerts.
• Public Affairs.
• Traveler Information (website/phone/mobile application).
• Commercial Vehicle Communications.

Pathfinder Team Best Practice
Repost, retweet, and recognize each other's emblems on social media posts. Reach out to the media. Include the Department of Transportation's Public Information Officer and use press releases.

STEP 8: CONDUCT POST EVENT REVIEW AND DATA ARCHIVING

Post Event and Post Season Meetings

After the event, an after action review may be warranted. This is done collaboratively and in-person, if possible. Some form of analysis or data archiving is recommended for each event, regardless of the severity, though the extent to which an event is analyzed can be scaled to the severity. A storm catalog can help with automatically archiving a standard set of data from each event. As with after action reviews, post-event analyses should include a detailed review of the collaboration undertaken throughout the event.

Post-season meetings are just as essential as pre-season meetings. All partners come to the table and the weather impacts experienced over the season are reviewed. Here, it is also important to review the collaboration effort: the challenges and successes experienced by each partner, the tasks and goals that need to be outlined for the next season, and the ability of the agency to agree upon and disseminate a shared public message. At this time, the team should document operating procedures, especially to help ensure continuity when staff turnover occurs.

Pathfinder effectiveness should also be documented within the context of agency performance management systems. For example, efforts to measure mobility and changes in traffic conditions should be assessed during Pathfinder execution as a means of quantifying the effectiveness of the effort. The team may want to develop generic messages to help consistency and to ease execution during future weather (Wx) events.

Educational Opportunities

The Pathfinder Team has recognized the value in understanding their counterparts' job functions and constraints, and encourages sharing industry information and education opportunities with one another. It may be necessary to develop training materials to education and inform new team members. Such training materials should be specific to the Pathfinder team and their operational model. It is also important to educate local media on the collaborative efforts being made amongst DOT and weather entities.