FIM Service Changes - NeXt-Warning-System/project GitHub Wiki

FIM Service Changes - FIM and XWS will continue to work together to review the wider service opportunities and challenges in the light of the new IM/FCRM Strategies and what XWS will enable us to do

“The Environment Agency will work with partners to transform its warning and informing services to better reach people living, working or travelling though flood risk areas” - FCRM Strategy

We have currently identified our six priority topics for shaping and decisions;

  1. Warning people, rather than property & performance measures
  2. Local Emergency Alerts (Cell Broadcast)
  3. How we communicate uncertainty in flood warnings & use of the flood codes
  4. Automation
  5. Warning for wider hazards
  6. Other changes including Targeted Flood Warning Service Charging and EDW messages

Warning people, rather than property & performance measures - XWS & FIM

  • IMPB have given FIM and XWS the approval to move the service to a ‘contact first’ approach
  • Wider business engagement to ensure all implications considered, in particular with Defra and the Government
  • Meet with Defra to provide update on this and wider service changes in the new year

Local Emergency Alerts (Cell Broadcast) – Digital Services

  • FIM and Digital Services (DS) working together to agree high level approach by the end of March
  • Attend FCRM Business Board and IMPB for approvals in Q4

How we communicate uncertainty in flood warnings & use with existing flood codes – FIM (XWS & FWEP)

  • Working group set up to look at uncertainty in flood warning messages and propose options in Q4
  • FIM, XWS & FWEP gather user research based on these options

Automation – FIM (FWEP, FoNT, IMFS & XWS)

  • Between now and the end of March FIM will work with projects and agree a high level plan of how automation  will work across the FIM service
  • Warning for wider hazards–  XWS & SSI
  • Aspiration that XWS will be a multi-hazard warning system, capable in principle to warn for any hazard including surface water
  • FIM linking to Strategy and FCRM confirm agree steer on surface water flooding direction (lean in but not step in at this stage)
  • XWS engaging with E&B to start discovering user needs

Other changes – XWS

  • DS review options for future TFWS charging and discover user needs for complex users
  • DS & FIM discovering potential EDW service changes
  • DS & FIM reviewing use of operational messages
  • Review other potential warning service changes including frequency of message updates, optional messages, warnings for other languages and flood area definitions