IMAGE OVER REALITY by Victor Porlier
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The President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion issued its second quarterly Summary of Assessment Information last week.
Within the 49 -page narrative, we are reminded that Y2K awareness is now quite widespread, coordinators have been designated, plans are being developed or are underway, fewer problems have been found than anticipated, progress is being made, and that (depending on the industrial or governmental sector) the systems will be tested and implemented by July 1, or October 1, or January 1. After all, the Y2K challenge has been largely solved already or will be soon, with the following exceptions taken from the body of the report:
Organizations that are not paying appropriate attention to the problem or adopting a "wait and see" strategy are putting themselves -- and those who depend on them -- at great risk. This position is most prevalent among small businesses and local governments. There is a wide disparity in the readiness of emergency systems at the county and municipal level. International Y2K activity, though increasing, is lagging and will be the source of our greatest risk.
We are increasingly concerned, however, about the Y2K readiness of health care providers.
Non-compliance among smart building systems could potentially create a ripple effect.
Concerns exist about the roughly 1300 small and medium-sized telephone companies where there is limited information about the status of their Y2K efforts. Half of those surveyed didn't have a formal Y2K plan.
Personal computers, especially those made before 1997, may contain hardware and software that is not Y2K compliant.
There is concern about those power companies that are not participating in industry assessments and for whom data is therefore not available on their progress.
Middle Eastern countries that produce much of the world's oil have been slow to act on the problem.
One of the biggest concerns in the pharmaceutical sector is the readiness of international suppliers. This is particularly troublesome in areas such as generic pharmaceuticals, where 90 percent of supplies originate from overseas.
There are significant concerns about the readiness of some airports, international aviation partners, and international ports and shipping.
There are significant concerns about the Y2K readiness of all parts of the international maritime transportation system: port infrastructure, communications systems, continuity of electric power, ship electronics, and navigation systems that interface with shore-based systems.
The majority of public water systems do not expect the Y2K problem to interrupt service, (but they can't say for sure).
It now appears that a number of countries will experience Y2K failure in key infrastructures.
And so, on go the exceptions noted in the Quarterly Report and, of course, we are expected to remain sanguine in the face of these dichotomies.
y2ktimebomb.com
Cheryl
The President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion
Second Summary of Assessment Information
y2k.gov |
