Safety systems face millennium shutdown
computerweekly.co.uk
'Safety systems face millennium shutdown
There is a 50%-80% chance that all sophisticated, safety-related control systems will fail in the year 2000, damning research from the Health and Safety Executive has revealed. The report, Safety and the year 2000, found that even the most simple safety systems have a 5% chance of failing because of the millennium.
Systems most at risk include those which control the sensors that detect fire or gas leaks in big production plants. Many engineering and manufacturing companies depend on these systems, and whole processes may be at risk, the report warned.
"But my greatest concern is for small and medium-sized businesses," said Jerry Docherty, managing director of Real Time Engineering, the consultancy that carried out the research on behalf of the executive. "Despite the publicity about the year 2000, I still think some companies are unaware of how serious the problem is. And if they are aware, do they have the technical and financial resources to apply to the problem?"
Docherty advises firms that have not yet carried out a year 2000 audit should do so immediately. Safety systems should be addressed first; then real-time systems that control the production plants. Office environment (heating, lighting and air conditioning) and security systems should be the third priority, Docherty added.
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Safety and the year 2000
As functionality increases, so does the potential for Year 2000 failure, and the authors of this report advise that the failure rate rises considerably above 50% for more sophisticated systems (note that these may or may not be safety systems).
You can read abstracts and order copies of Safety and the year 2000 from the HSE Bookfinder Web site. ' |
