The Often-Overlooked Items when Dealing with Y2K Problem

Peter Mok

Background

Everyone in the Information Technology(IT) industry knows about the impact of Year 2000 (or Y2K) problem and is trying hard to tackle it. But, some may still not be aware that devices, equipment or systems other than computers and networks may also be problematic at the turn of the millennium. They could be personal devices or equipment used in organisations. Some may only cause inconveniences or nuisances, others may cause serious problems or sometimes even endanger lives.

The purpose of this article is to bring to the attention of all those who may still think that the Y2K problem is not their concern. The discussion will concentrate on issues that seem non-related or not directly related to the IT industry.

Does Y2K Affect You?

In general, all devices or systems which have time-based control are subject to the Y2K problem. To list a few, they include the daily used equipment such as facsimile machines, pagers, telephones with time recording and VCR as well as other equipment used in large organisations such as PABX, time clocks, power utilities and control systems, security control and monitoring systems. For universities, laboratory equipment and instruments, medical equipment with embedded systems or clocking systems may have the Y2K problem. The list is endless - just anything that you may think of. That is why the Y2K problem is treated as the most difficult problem ever, causing organisations as well as governments billions of dollars to tackle.

In most cases, just like the computer programs or systems, these devices have problems interpreting the year 2000. They may either treat it as 1900 or simply failed. Others may not be able to detect the year 2000 as leap year.

What Are the Risks Involved?

As have been mentioned, the damage caused may be a very severe one. How serious can it be? Think about when a time regulated power control won't work when it is expected to turn on the central air-conditioning of the building. What will happen when the voltage regulator ceases to work? Think about a control system in the laboratory that stops functioning just because it has an embedded processor with a time calculation capability, or a security system that denies people access to it. IT people simply do not have enough knowledge on the power systems, the security systems, and the laboratory environment to give advice on the possible risks that are involved should these devices fail. The departments concerned need to do a detailed study on all devices involved especially those used in critical services. It also requires a very close cooperation of the departments, the equipment supplier and the IT people.

Handling the Y2K Problem

The situation may be very serious if it endangers the lives of many - citizens of a country/city, staff of an organisation or students of a university. Pay special attention to this issue and take it seriously even though there may not be a major problem. Departments in organisations have to do an exhaustive study on what may be affected by the Y2K problem. Draw up a list of systems with potential Y2K problem (see References below). Contact suppliers to get information about the Y2K compliance of the equipment. Get a certification from the supplier on compliance or lack of compliance. Do a risk analysis of the potential problems for each of the affected. Take appropriate action - either replace or update the affected device. Perform tests on the systems. Make a contingency plan on those items that cannot be replaced or those that are uncertain.

Final Word

Time is running short, act fast if you have not already done so. There are only a few months left for you to do the study, the preparation, the replacement/update and the test. Even though you have already coped with the problem, you still need to stay alert at all times as it is easy to overlook things. Conditions may not be that bad, but prevention is better than cure. Don't just let the IT people worry.

References

1. An excerpt from an email by John Caterall regarding embedded systems in power utilities

http://www.doit.state.ct.us/y2k/powerutil_catterall.htm

2. Embedded systems from State of Connecticut - Department of Information Technology

http://www.doit.state.ct.us/y2k/embedd.htm

3. The Cassandra Project - Y2K Health & Safety Information

http://cassandraproject.org/health.html

4. Join Hands to Tackle the Millennium Bug for the Government of HKSAR

http://www.year2000.gov.hk/indexe.htm

5. Systems with Embedded Computer Chips

http://www.cunamutual.com/custaff/managedu/Y2K/gridsyst_embed.html

6. Year 2000 Embedded Systems Vendors, Associations and Manufacturers

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/roleigh_martin/y2k_com.htm

7. The Year 2000 and Embedded Systems from the Year 2000 Information Center

http://www.year2000.com/archive/NFembedded.html

8. Year 2000 Issues for Embedded Systems from EPRI

http://year2000.epriweb.com/index.html

9. Why Is There So Much Risk in Year 2000 Embedded Systems Upgrades In Core Infrastructure Facilities?

http://www.y2ktimebomb.com/Computech/Issues/mrtn9809.htm

10. The Year/2000 Embedded Systems Threat to Core Infrastructure Services

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/roleigh_martin/y2journ.htm

11. Article from Steve Davis

http://www.erols.com/steve451/embed.htm

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