Year 2000 problem

William Real <realw [at] ix__netcom__com> writes

>My institution has just asked me to develop contingency plans for
>the possibility of systems malfunctions caused by the Y2K bug.  Both
>the security and HVAC controls systems have been cited as possible
>victims.

Add to that sprinkler systems that are (sometimes) wired directly
into the plant alarm system. The same would probably go for
dataloggers and anything they're talking with. I'd also want to look
hard at things like cold storage rooms and vacuum chambers.

Fortunately, there's a relatively simple way to eliminate some of
your devices from the list of possible nasties. Generally (I can't
swear to "always") devices with embedded PLCs (Programmable Logic
Controllers) that might be subject to Y2K problems, must have some
mechanism for setting the date for the device. If they don't then
even, the reasoning goes, the device can't be doing anything with
the real date, (i.e. all it can do is measure simple duration and
chances are very slim that the century will come into play.) Of
course the trick is figuring out whether there is actually some
non-obvious mechanism for setting the date (like reprogramming an
EPROM or executing some arcane FORTH program written in the mid
1970's).

Walter

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:37
                 Distributed: Friday, October 16, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-12-37-009
                                  ***