Are you ready for the Year 2000? More importantlyis your technical equipment? The Y2K bug can definitely affect workplace safety and health. On January 1, 2000, every computer and every computer chip in the United States needs to recognize that we’re leaving the 1900’s behind. Many need to be reprogrammed, since original coding often used only two digits for the year. This design flaw means that computers may not distinguish whether 00 means 1900 or 2000, which may lead to possible shutdowns, inaccurate data and faulty calculations. Fixing the problem may be pains-taking and labor intensive, but not fixing it may be worse. Serious safety and health problems are among the many concerns facing employers, employees and governments worldwide. OSHA recommends you take time now to address these issues.
What Can Go Wrong
Computer
chips are embedded in all kinds of equipment.
If you have machinery or production processes that are computer
controlled, this equipment could fail or malfunction when 1999 turns into 2000. Some businesses have computerized information on hazardous
materials. Will you be able to
access that in the year 2000? What
about computer chips programmed to print out routine maintenance messages?
Will they work? Or will a system component fail because it wasn’t replaced
at the proper time?
For
example, a power generating station simulated changing the date for a boiler
feed-water control loop. The date
change caused the feed-water regulating valves to slam shut and initiated the
boiler trip logic. If this had not
been a test, the plant would have come to a screeching halt.
Another
employer tested and found that all the fire sprinklers in its facility would
have been activated. Wouldn’t
this cause a major problem on our campuses?
As another example, a petroleum company realized after conducting
testing that its offshore rig would shut down because an embedded chip
misunderstood the date change.
These are some areas on
your campus that you may want to take a look at or bring to the attention of the
proper departmental personnel.
Controllers for
equipment and processes.
Air monitoring and
alarm systems devices.
Security systems.
Generators and backup
lighting.
Heating and air
conditioning systems.
Fire suppression
systems.
Telephone systems.
Elevator and lift
controls.
Underground storage
tank monitors.
The
following is a priority listing according to one university:
A.
High
Priority
1. Facility Fire Alarm and
Control Systems
2. Security Systems (ADA Doors)
3. Microprocessor Computer Room A/C Units
4. Environmental management control systems: Excell, Landis, Andover,
Teletrol, Johnson
5. Microprocessor Chiller Control Panels
6. Microprocessor Elevator Control
7. Microprocessor Generator Control Panels
B.
Medium Priority
1. Programmable
Thermostats
2. Variable Speed Drives
3. Programmable Lighting Controllers
4. Digital Time Clocks (Other than lighting)
5. Irrigation Systems
6. FAX Machines
C.
Low
Priority
1. Desktop PCs and
Software
2. Laptop PCs and Software
3. Meters (Power Analyzer, Flow Meter)
4. VCRs
5. Camcorders
6. Still Cameras
7. Astrological Clock (not working)
Make a list of all computer-controlled equipment (anything with a circuit
board). Most computers that are
over five years old and are NOT Pentium (586) processors should be suspect.
Ask your computer experts on campus or a local computer store how you can
check the BIOS to see if it will recognize years after 1999.
Here some steps that you may want to follow in evaluating your equipment
and systems.
Check the software
manufactured into your equipment and systems.
To get help and assistance you will need to know what the software title
is and the version.
Contact your equipment
and computer manufacturers for their recommendations
Check every system to
identify time-sensitive logic controls.
Evaluate to determine
whether computer chips can handle the date change.
Fix or replace
equipment that could cause problems.
Verify that the updated
system works properly.
Every institution should have a recovery plan. Almost all big businesses already have a plan and a department to oversee it. A recovery plan ensures that essential functions will continue despite most conceivable disasters. All schools should have a plan that backs up and protects the school’s data and ensures continued essential functions with minimal delay. Does your school have such a plan in place?
Unfortunately, a lot of us just hope that there will be no disaster or event that will affect us. They just hope, and, it must be said; they usually luck out. Most of the time for most organizations, disasters don’t happen. But the millennium change is a potential disaster that is going to come for every-body for sure, and this time we know exactly when it will come, down to the second. We aren’t quite sure yet what it will and won’t effect, but the prudent organization will have already begun to plan for contingencies now. If you haven’t examined the Y2K problem yet or overlooked some of the areas identified in this newsletter, take the time to do so and hopefully avoid some potential serious problems.