| Training for highways engineers |
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What our customers say...
David Bools, Direct Marketing, Highways Agency:
"Weather plays the major influencing role for
winter road maintenance decision making. However Road
Engineers are faced with the daunting task of making
the correct decision based on a wide variety of information
sources. Met Office OpenRoad training courses enable
engineers to understand both the value and, more importantly,
the limitations of the various weather information sources."
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OpenRoad training can be hosted by the Met Office or provided
at your own premises, and can be tailored to meet your needs
and requirements.
All courses provide a full set of notes to use for handy
reference, and course certificates are awarded on completion.
Refreshments (all courses) and lunch (full-day courses only)
are provided.
Current courses include:
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For inspectors and drivers
- half-day programme
- gives inspectors and drivers a basic knowledge of road weather
- demonstrates how to understand the basic principles of sensors
and forecast information
- enables attendees to distinguish relevant weather observations
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Course content
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- where does UK weather come from?
- understanding the difference between hoar frost and black ice,
rain and showers, freezing rain and snow, and so on
- road temperature effects due to the time of year, cloud amount,
and so on
- understanding available sensor data
- understanding forecasts and their limitations
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For decision-makers and road engineers
- one-day programme
- provides knowledge on how to interpret forecast services
- helps with the decision making process with respect to winter
maintenance
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Course content
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Introduction
Technical infrastructure (hardware, communications and thermal
mapping)
Road temperatures:
- factors governing road temperature
- relationship with air temperature
- relationship with other ground temperatures
- use of forecast thermal maps
Road states:
- sources of moisture
- ice
- hoar frost, dew and flash frosts
- fog and freezing fog
- sleet, hail and freezing rain
- salt wash-off
- porous asphalt
- other sources of moisture
Snow:
- types of snow
- local variations of snow with altitude and with precipitation
intensity
Information sources on snow:
- text forecasts
- site-specific snow prediction
- weather radar
- limitations
New-generation weather radar
Limitations (meteorological and technical):
- uncertainty and confidence factors
- sensor and thermal map accuracy
- apparent large errors on forecast graphs
- advice in marginal situations
Practical sessions (including case studies of weather radar)
Questions and course wrap-up
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For established and experienced road engineers
- one-day programme
- provides engineers with knowledge to make strategic decision
on future forecast services and possible plant requirements
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Course content
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Arrivals and introduction
Refresher, including:
- marginal nights due to variable cloud
- forecasting snow events
- remote sensor developments
Climate change update: the latest position and likely impacts on
transport
Probability forecasts - what they are, and practical uses and limitations
Web products and their uses
Questions and course wrap-up
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| Met Office hosted courses - dates and venues |
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To attend a Met Office hosted course please e-mail:
openroad@metoffice.gov.uk
or alternatively contact our Customer
Centre
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| Training on your premises |
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To arrange for a course to be held at your premises please e-mail:
openroad@metoffice.gov.uk
or alternatively contact our Customer
Centre
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