Offshore Meteorological Weather Interpretation Training (OMWIT)

Purpose

OMWIT, The Offshore Meteorological Weather Interpretation Training course, will enable participants to understand, interpret, document and report weather systems, as applicable to offshore helicopter operations.

The course is conducted taking in account guidelines of IOGP 690-3 Chapter 14, UKCAA CAP 437 and WMO Ship’s weather code 1982

Target Audience

Radio officer on rigs or HLO who also have to don the responsibility of pre-take off communication with the helicopter pilot.

Course Content

THEORY

• Introduction to aviation meteorology (weather patterns, air masses and fronts) and understanding their potential impact on offshore helicopter operations.
• Meteorological coding interpretation, including TAF, METAR, CAVOK etc.
• Understanding national/international weather systems.
• Training in the use of HMS (Helideck Monitoring Equipment) and related procedures.
• Training in the use of contingency meteorological equipment and procedures in case of the failure or unavailability of automated sensors. 
• The process of creating an accurately encoded offshore weather observation.
• Access to the relevant support material.
• Estimating visibility from offshore helidecks and limitation of sensors.
• Observing precipitation including freezing precipitation.
• Observing and reporting lightning and thunderstorms.
• Identification of convective clouds and the operational significance of Tcu/CB clouds.
• Estimating cloud amounts and cloud bases and limitation of sensors.
• Reporting of pressure including QNH, QFE and the significance of this to offshore helicopter operations.
• Reporting of sea conditions i.e. Sea State and Wave Height.
• A review of weather reporting and associated pros & cons from an air crew perspective.

PRACTICAL ON BELOW REPORTING PROCEDURE AS PER IOGP-690

Personnel trained and certified as aviation weather observers, or Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS), are used to provide weather information..

To derive following data from the reporting equipment and prepare coded Message for Helicopter:

• Wind speed and direction
• Barometric pressure
• Temperature
• Visibility
• Cloud base
• Sea state
• For floating facilities, helideck motion data.
• All reporting equipment must be maintained and calibrated to a defined schedule and the results recorded in a register.

OMWIT course prepares a radio officer or HLO to correctly interpret weather data and report it in given format for transmission to Helicopter.