ASSOCIATION OF
HYDRO-METEOROLOGICAL EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY
(HMEI)
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GENERAL ASSEMBLY
18th Session
MADRID, SPAIN, 28 SEPTEMBER 2016 / HMEI GA-18/Doc.4
(11.09.2016)
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ITEM: 4
Original: ENGLISH

Chairman’s report

(Submitted by the Chairman of the HMEI Council)

SUMMARY AND PURPOSE OF DOCUMENT
This document presents highlights on the major HMEI activities since GA-17 (Geneva, Switzerland, 2 June).

ACTION PROPOSED

The General Assembly is invited to take the contents of this report into consideration during its deliberations.

Appendix:Chairman’s Report

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HMEI GA-18/Doc.4, Appendix p.1

Chairman’s Report

(Summary of major HMEI activities since GA-17)

  1. On behalf of the HMEI Secretariat, I would like to welcome our Members to the Joint CIMO/TECO/Meteorex Conference with MeteorologicalTechnology World Expo 2016(MTWE 2016).
  1. In reviewing the Program for TECO and the list of exhibitors at MTWE 2016, this will be a tremendous opportunity for the exchange of information between the HMEI Membership and WMO. I wish each of you success while you are in Madrid.
  1. This has been a busy and exciting year for HMEI with the Tender Documentation Initiative coming to a close. Two years ago, HMEI opened a project to develop Tender Documentation populated with specifications from CIMO Guide-8 for synoptic weather stations. It was envisaged that this pilot project would be of benefit to end users in both the Developed and Developing Worlds in the creation of tender documents for their projects.
  1. This initiative is the foundation for the creation of other supporting documentation for weather radar, lightning detection, upper air systems, etc. While we had a very enthusiastic core of volunteers from HMEI and the support of WMO, it became clear that this was a very large project and beyond the time available from volunteers. The Secretariat of HMEI realised that in order to develop the necessary pieces in a timely manner that we would require a consultant to complete the work which would require funding beyond HMEI’s available cash. The World Bank (~ USD 80K) along with HMEI (CHF 20K) funded the project and contracted Dr Foeke Kuik to take the lead on the project.
  1. The project scope included:

a)Creation of a Comprehensive Document

The final document is near completion and approximate 200 pages in length, covering a very broad range of topics. A summary spreadsheet will be created upon final approval of the document that will act as a crib sheet for end users. The project will be presented during the TECO session as a technical paper in Madrid Spain by DrKuik. The presentation is scheduled for Friday September 30 at 11:00-11:30, Session 4B – Challenges and Opportunities for Continuous Improvement in Observing Technologies, where Dr Kuik will present the Keynote talk titled: Requirement Specifications for SYNOPTIC Observation Networks. I encourage you to attend this presentation so that you may learn more about the project.

b)Development of an Internet Tool

To assist end users with the development of their tender documentation, Gerhard Pevny of Logotronic (HMEI Member) undertook the development of a Web-based interactive tool for the on-line creation of consistent and comprehensive tenders. This beta-version tool will be presented live at the HMEI booth. The demonstration will show how a user can quickly develop their tender document through the use of specification templates for specific measurement parameters and application areas including project and equipment life cycle management. All text modules have comprehensive explanations and links to relevant information to give the user a detailed overview about the technical options. The user has full editing capabilities on the created text modules allowing them to download the completed tender in MS Word (docx).

I encourage you to see view the live demonstrations of the tool which will be presented at the HMEI Stand 5125 by Gerhard Pevny on the following days:

Tuesday: 11:00hrs and 14:00hrs
Wednesday: 11:00hrs and 14:00hrs
Thursday: 11:00hrs

  1. Prior to the completion of the project, there are several additional steps beyond the development of the document and supporting internet tool:

Deciding who will be responsible for:

  • Rolling out the document and internet tool out to end users for testing
  • Hosting of the Internet Tool
  • Document Maintenance

Review and potential incorporation of the document by WMO as an Annex to CIMO Guide-8

Develop a Lessons Learned Document so that the next project be rolled out more efficiently

Selecting the next project to be tackled

  1. On behalf of all the Members of HMEI I would like to express our sincere gratitude to all who volunteered their time to review the documentation and the internet tool. A special thanks to Gerhard Pevny who donated his time to develop the internet tool and to Dr Foeke Kuik who developed the document and lead this important project.
  1. Lastly, I would like to congratulate the winner of the HMEI Young Engineer’s Award, Dr Denis Kiselev from Plair SA for his work In Mastering a Measurement Device and Methods for the Detection of AirborneParticles. This year there were two very strong submissions with only 1.5 points points separating the candidates.

Again, I wish you all the best while you are in Madrid and look forward to seeing you at HMEI’s Annual General Assembly held in Room A 6.1 on September 28 at 16:00 hrs.

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