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Technology Stocks : Year 2000 (Y2K) Embedded Systems & Infrastructure Problem -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Mansfield who wrote (97)	2/18/1998 1:40:00 AM
From: John Mansfield	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 618

' certifying the year 2000 compliance of all suppliers was "probably impossible" because of limited time ' computerweekly.co.uk 'Friday 06 February Manufacturers face millennium meltdown About 80% of suppliers to UK manufacturers are not year 2000 compliant, recent research has revealed. The disturbing findings from Gartner Group show that over the next three years, 80% of manufacturers that do not develop a supplier millennium compliance programme will suffer lower margins because of increased inventory levels and expediting costs. A further 20% will be hit by declining revenues, caused by the loss of customers owing to missed orders or inventory availability. Chris Jones, a Gartner analyst and author of the report, said certifying the year 2000 compliance of all suppliers was "probably impossible" because of limited time and supplier lists that potentially reach into the thousands. He urged manufacturers to prioritise suppliers into three categories - critical, important and commodity - and focus the greatest effort on their critical suppliers. "Because critical suppliers can pose a serious threat to customer responsiveness, they must be interrogated at the same level as in-house IT programmes," said Jones. "For suppliers who are not yet compliant, manufacturers must develop an action plan based on three criteria: what is the likelihood that a supplier will become compliant in time; should delivery-risk minimisation strategies, such as inventory builds, be required; and should alternate suppliers be developed?" Jones said non-compliant and important supplier contracts should be renegotiated to include delivery risk minimisation strategies in case the supplier fails to comply. '

To: John Mansfield who wrote (97)	2/20/1998 2:10:00 PM
From: John Mansfield	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 618

Frequently asked Embeddeds Q/A 'Q: 'If there is no way you could enter a date, or the system receive a date through its interfaces and if the system could operate normally after a power failures (pulling the plug out and disconnecting any batteries on it) Then can we be sure it does not have an year 2000 problem? A: 'The answer to this is categorically NO' 'Many of these assumptions are being made by individuals who do not fully understand the design and programming of "Embedded Software based Systems".' ------ Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 13:17:26 +0000 Message-ID: <000271EE.001268@ccgate.aeat.co.uk> From: david.spinks@aeat.co.uk (David \|Spinks) Subject: Re: Embedded Systems - False Assumptions To: year2000-discuss@year2000.com Dear All The answer to this is categorically NO... there are a number of conditions which enable dates or date related or date generated errors to enter a "system" and cause a failure. Please do not forget that some date and real time chips have their own power source which can preserve data for up to 10 years. Removal of batteries or power does not proves very little as far as this problem is concerned. Many of these assumptions are being made by individuals who do not fully understand the design and programming of "Embedded Software based Systems". Experience shows that equipment may be placed into other modes of operation (calibration and maintenance modes being two of the most common) other than normal operation mode. Dates may enter systems when under repair or being calibrated. The bottom line is that organisations who operate safety related equipment will need to ensure that these systems will not fail due to a date related problem. Testing is only one option but if your supplier cannot demonstrate his testing to you then you may have to employ specialists to do this work. It is not something most companies can do themselves - remember testing may present a higher risk than the Y2K failure itself... I suggest a starting point for understanding these issues might be found by looking at the UK IEE web site which has some of the best guidance available. For organisations with real problems I would be happy to assist directly. David Spinks Business Development Manager Warrington WA3 6AT ---- ********************************************************** Embedded Software - Year 2000 Consultancy ********************************************************** _____________________________ Reply Separator From: "Yastreboff, Michael MM" <Yastreboff.Michael.MM@bhp.com.au> To: "'year2000-discuss@year2000.com'" <year2000-discuss@year2000.com> Subject: RE: Embedded Systems: Fire Sprinkler Control Systems Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1998 17:04:01 +1100 Gentlemen: Lets try this statement: If there is no way you could enter a date, or the system receive a date through its interfaces and if the system could operate normally after a power failures (pulling the plug out and disconnecting any batteries on it) Then can we be sure it does not have an year 2000 problem? -------------