Among  other support and services, NWS provides four meteorologists at each of  FAA’s 21 en route centers to provide on-site aviation weather services. NWS and FAA Officials Agreed to Improve Services, but This Agreement Is Not Fully Defined

After developing and shelving four different proposals for restructuring  the center weather service units over the last 5 years, NWS and FAA have  reached agreement on how to improve aviation weather services. Specifically, FAA proposed and NWS agreed to continue the current center  weather service units at each of the 21 en route centers through  September 2011 and to take immediate steps to improve aviation weather  services by (1) having the service units provide forecasts at 10 key FAA  terminal radar approach control facilities and (2) providing around-the- clock coverage at all of the en route centers by having the local weather  forecast office support the en route centers when the center weather  service units are closed for the night—a practice that currently is used at  selected en route centers. In addition, the agencies agreed to establish a  joint team to baseline current capabilities and develop firm requirements  for NWS products and services supporting FAA’s air traffic flow  management out through 2015. As a result, it is  not clear what will happen to the 21 service units after September 2011,  when the immediate improvements in services will be in place, whether  there are any costs associated with these steps, whether the benefits  outweigh the costs, and who will pay for them. Until this agreement is  further defined in writing and formalized between the two agencies, the  risks remain that the agencies will misjudge their responsibilities and not  fulfill their agreements. Over the past year, NWS has made progress in identifying performance  measures, tracking performance on selected measures, and reporting on  the selected measures; however, the agency is not yet tracking or  reporting on all applicable performance measures. NWS has started tracking performance for three of the seven measures  and is partially tracking a fourth. In addition, until NWS regularly reports on its performance, the  agencies lack the information they need to determine what is working well  and what needs to be improved. NWS and FAA Have Not Fully Addressed Key Challenges

In September 2009, we identified three challenges that FAA and NWS  faced in modifying the current aviation weather structure: (1) achieving  interagency collaboration, (2) defining requirements, (3) aligning changes  with the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen)—a long- term initiative to increase the efficiency of the national airspace system. The agencies have taken initial steps to collaborate, refine requirements,  and look for ways to align their plans with NextGen, but they have not yet  fully addressed the challenges. Until these fundamental challenges are  addressed, the agencies are unlikely to achieve significant improvements  in the aviation weather services provided at en route centers. In July 2010, the two agencies agreed to establish a joint  team to develop firm requirements for NWS products and services  supporting FAA’s air traffic flow management out to 2015, including those  provided by the center weather service units. While this is an important  step, significant work remains to be done to revise these requirements. Until NWS has a solid understanding of the current  level of performance, it will be limited in its ability to evaluate what  progress has been made and whether or not it is achieving its goals. Recommendations for Executive Action

To improve the aviation weather products and services provided at FAA’s  en route centers, we are making three recommendations to the Secretaries  of Commerce and Transportation. Specifically, we recommend that the  Secretaries direct the NWS and FAA Administrators to    define, document, and sign the agencies’ recent agreements on (1) the  locations of the center weather service units, (2) immediate improvements  in aviation weather services and operating hours, and (3) the development  of an implementation plan for improvements through 2015;   ensure that NWS regularly tracks progress, documents performance  baselines, and reports on its format consistency, forecast accuracy, and  training performance measures; and    ensure that NWS develops a reliable customer satisfaction baseline by  refining the questions used during annual evaluations, so that comparable  information is collected from year to year, and revising the scoring process  to ensure that scores accurately reflect each center’s performance. The agency agreed  with our recommendations and identified plans to implement selected  parts of the recommendations. The Department of Transportation’s Director of Audit Relations provided  comments on a draft of this report via e-mail. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to (1) determine the status of the agencies’ efforts to  restructure aviation weather services and products, (2) assess the  agencies’ progress in establishing performance baselines in order to  measure the effect of any changes, and (3) evaluate plans to address key  challenges.
Why GAO Did This Study

The National Weather Service's (NWS) weather products are a vital component of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) air traffic control system. In addition to providing aviation weather products developed at its own facilities, NWS also provides on-site staff at each of FAA's en route centers--the facilities that control high-altitude flight outside the airport tower and terminal areas. NWS's on-site staff is called a center weather service unit. For several years, NWS and FAA have been exploring options for improving the aviation weather services provided at en route centers. GAO agreed to (1) determine the status of the agencies' efforts to restructure aviation weather services, (2) assess the agencies' progress in establishing performance baselines in order to measure the effect of any changes, and (3) evaluate plans to address key challenges. To do so, GAO evaluated agency progress and plans and compared agency efforts with leading practices.

What GAO Found

After developing and shelving four proposals for restructuring the center weather service units over the last 5 years, in July 2010, senior NWS and FAA officials agreed to continue the current center weather service units at each of the 21 en route centers through September 2011 and to take immediate steps to improve aviation weather services by (1) having the service units provide forecasts for 10 key FAA terminal radar facilities and (2) having nearby weather forecast offices support FAA's en route centers when the service units are closed for the night. In addition, the agencies agreed to establish a joint team to baseline current capabilities and develop firm requirements for aviation weather services supporting air traffic flow management. While this agreement is important, the details have not been fully defined. Thus, it is not yet clear what will happen to the 21 service units after September 2011, when the immediate improvements in services will be in place, whether there are any costs associated with these steps, and who will pay for them. Until the two agencies further define their plans, the risk remains that the agencies will misjudge their responsibilities and not fulfill their agreements. FAA and NWS have made progress in identifying performance measures for the weather service units located at FAA en route centers, and NWS is beginning to track its service units' performance. However, NWS has not yet tracked, established baselines for, and reported to FAA on all applicable performance measures. Specifically, of seven possible performance measures, NWS is tracking performance for three of the measures and partially tracking a fourth measure. Of these four measures, the agency has established a sound baseline and reported on two of these measures and has made partial progress on two others. The agency is not tracking performance, documenting baselines, or reporting on three of the measures because it has not yet determined how to track them. Without an understanding of the current level of performance of the identified measures, the agencies will be limited in their ability to evaluate what progress has been made. In addition, until NWS regularly reports on its performance, the agencies lack the information they need to determine what is working well and what needs to be improved. In September 2009, GAO identified three challenges in modifying NWS's aviation weather services provided at FAA's en route centers: achieving interagency collaboration, defining requirements, and aligning changes with the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen)--a long-term initiative to increase the efficiency of the national airspace system. The agencies have not yet fully addressed these challenges. Specifically, while senior agency officials recently agreed on how to proceed, work remains to be done to refine requirements, develop and execute an implementation plan, and to ensure that improvements are aligned with the long-term vision for NextGen. Until these fundamental challenges are addressed, the agencies are unlikely to achieve significant improvements in the aviation weather services provided at en route centers.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that the Departments of Commerce and Transportation define their agreements, refine performance management processes, and address key challenges. In commenting on a draft of this report, Commerce agreed with GAO's recommendations and identified plans to address them; Transportation agreed to consider the recommendations.