EPRI Electrical Power Research Institute Y2K site - long post
epriweb.com
'Mitigating the Millennium Bug
Microprocessors are incorporated into much of the equipment that drives mission-critical corporate operations and communications. Some chips may have a problem with the rollover to the Year 2000. But which ones? Under what conditions?
EPRI has initiated a "Year 2000 Issues for Embedded Systems" project to complement the efforts already underway by many companies. The program acts as a focal point for collection, synthesis, and discussion of practical information to address potential consequences. We invite you to read the program description and become a project member
Created by electric utilities in 1973, EPRI is one of America's oldest and largest research consortia with some 700 worldwide members. Though the Year 2000 program is geared initially to the needs of the electric power industry, companies in other industries are invited to participate as well.
EPRI Year 2000 Issues for Embedded Systems Program Objectives facilitate information exchange via:
industry-wide web site with extensive knowledge base
information sharing with other industries
quarterly workshops for program participants
seminars and conferences
"quick response to inquiry"
identify industry "lessons learned"
identify potential R&D opportunities
identify training opportunities
provide collaboration with other industry and government organizations
assist in developing contingency planning
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The Power Of The Chip
epriweb.com
<Picture: chips>Chips - ubiquitous chips - control everything from the spark advance in an automobile to massive utility systems. Globally, there are more than a billion chips in service today. Many of the chips currently being used may have a potential problem with the rollover to the year 2000 and other high-risk dates. Consequently, industries around the world are racing the clock to meet this unprecedented challenge of the Information Age.
Numerous companies have already initiated Year 2000 programs, but most of those programs focus on software-related issues. Embedded systems - the microprocessors and chips that keep our modern society running - have not received as much attention. Logic and computation errors by date-sensitive embedded systems could have an incredible range of impacts - from compromised power quality to the complete failure of power generation and delivery systems, breakdowns in industrial equipment and processes, and unprecedented losses in customer services. Because of the characteristic interconnectivity of the Information Age, Year 2000 problems experienced by major suppliers, vendors, and customers could also affect crucial business and infrastructure functions.
Because embedded systems perform mission-critical functions in all parts of utility operations, communications, and business, it is important, particularly for infrastructure industries, to recognize the linkages upstream and downstream of their own operations. Failure to address the problem in one part of the larger system can have repercussions elsewhere. Year 2000 compliance may prove critical to market retention and, perhaps, survival in some competitive, service-oriented sectors. |
