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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 (283)	3/28/1998 5:37:00 AM
From: John Mansfield	Respond to of 618

INDEX-EMBEDDED I - Index to embedded software Y2K issues... ...that I found interesting. Changed 3/28/1998 General: - Searches - FAA - IEE - UK Railtrack - Embedded systems companies - Health and Safety - Utilities - Automotive industry - Supply chain - Apron services Links to interesting sites: Message 3715174 INDEX-Europe 15/3/1998 Message 3715224 _____________________________________ Searches My general search page, regularly updated: Message 3708836 _____________________________________ FAA - Federal Aviation Agency The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continues to be at significant risk of system failure. Message 3791489 GAO report: ' Observations on FAA's Modernization Program Message 3708985 3/1998 FAA - 'Now try to debug something like that!' Found on C.S.Y2K, thank to Jim Cobbs. Sample of production code containing some stuff coded without assembler. 'The problem is that the date functions are not in programming languages, like Fortran or Cobol, but in machine language -- strings of ones and zeros more basic to the computer than even the operating system' Message 3176008 The main concern is actually about the air traffic control It seems that not only the US FAA is in big trouble; but also the UK Air traffic control (CAA it is called I think) : Message 3311151 news.bbc.co.uk _____________________________________ IEE IEE : '"SMEs" - smaller companies which may not have the expertise to examine or modify their system' iee.org.uk IEE guide online!: 'The Millennium Problem in Embedded Systems' iee.org.uk I like this one! 'œ16,606.25 Estimated saving œ 4.0 M' iee.org.uk Message 3220256 'The following item is given as a cautionary tale Planning Liaison Unit for Navel Development and General Engineering Transcript of Defect Analysis Meeting held on: 05/01/2000' US lagging UK in awareness on Y2K in embedded software - II fei.org.uk 'The Federation of the Electronics Industry (FEI) is the lead UK Trade Association for companies in the Information Technology, Communications and Electronics Industries, in Defence and Civil Electronics and in Office Equipment and Furniture. ' fei.org.uk Links that the IEE finds helpful regarding Y2K iee.org.uk long post; TECHNICAL but VERY INTERESTING : IEE ADDENDA to 'The Millennium Problem in Embedded Systems' Message 3371945 iee.org.uk This is a very detailed and comprehensive update to the IEE guide on y2k in embedded systems. IEE is the Institution of Electrical Engineers; based in the U _____________________________________ UK RAILTRACK UK: Rail industry bands together to beat millennium bug railtrack.co.uk 19 November 1997 Senior rail chiefs have voted overwhelmingly to create a cross-industry body to solve potential problems caused by the millennium bug. Message 3221037 IEE and British Railtrack training program: 'accredited by both the IEE...' railtrack.co.uk This gives some idea of the status of the IEE. Message 3221163 _____________________________________ EMBEDDED SOFTWARE COMPANIES Some embedded software co's - all participating in y2k discussions control.com Message 3283531 _____________________________________ HEALTH AND SAFETY UK: the NHS Executive Year 2000 Team Interesting site. Discussion forum will be implemented. imc.exec.nhs.uk '...we'll have to take our vendor's certification that it's year 2000-compliant as gospel,' njo.com Testing in hospitals Message 3734457 'The money will help keep vital computer-driven medical equipment such as heart monitors' 'March 17, 1998 Message 3748025 'The money will help keep vital computer-driven medical equipment such as heart monitors' Message 3748025 '...we'll have to take our vendor's certification that it's year 2000-compliant as gospel,' Message 3734430 3/1998 FDA Y2K guidance Message 3716799 Comparison of two guides on testing embedded systems: HSE's and IEE's. By Ian Hugo. Message 3635924 UK HSE report - Martins: ' this report is phenomenal' Message 3632578 Healthcare Info and Mgnt System Society: "Avoid hospitals around 2000 ...It might just save your life." Message 3634770 UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) hsebooks.co.uk Message 3289184 HSE will issue guidance on this topic in March 1998. This guidance will be free and available from the Internet (address http:/www.open.gov.uk/hse/hsehome.htm) and as a leaflet. Safety systems face millennium shutdown computerweekly.co.uk Message 3289166 Valley Health System Year 2000 Project: Impact Analysis also for embedded software. From: year2000.com Message 3339049 'Patient care to suffer as NHS fixes millennium bug' computerweekly.co.uk Message 3489066 UK: Health and safety concerns for Y2K pa.press.net 'Fears are strong that the year 2000 computer bug poses real threats to the health and safety of workers in thousands of companies in the UK, according to a new report from an official watchdog. Message 3448934 Medical Devices and Equipment Compliance pc47.cee.hw.ac.uk 'Medical Devices and Equipment Compliance 'Chances are, you'll be at the hospital on equipment patrol.' amhpi.com. amhpi.com : 'About the American Society for Healthcare Materials Management EXCELLENT!: UK NHS Executive Year 2000 Team site Message 3539833 Detailed description of Y2K status; examples in healthcare 'According to a recent Gartner Group survey of Industry responses to the problem, Healthcare ranked near the bottom of all vertical industries with respect to their Year 2000 activity: a whopping 88% was still in the "awareness" phase' Message 3539695 Detailed description of Y2K status; examples in healthcare Message 3539695 Utility in Auckland Auckland report Message 3704770 Auckland: 'senior staff didn't panic early enough' Message 3669232 Auckland 'Another excellent press release from Mercury mercury.co.nz' Status, pictures, maps showing the power lines.... gripping realistic picture of current situation. _____________________________________ UTILITIES `Most nuclear reactors can not start up (and then produce power), unless they initially get power from somewhere else Message 3797173 Electric Utility Website EUY2K: Some highlights Message 3796038 Feb.10 1997 Informationweek - Pacificorp 'Kappelman says government regulators should mandate deadlines for certain businesses, such as utilities and manufacturing, to fix not only software code but also equipment with embedded chips programmed with two-digit years. Message 3728055 Electric Utility Website EUY2K: Some highlights Message 3796038 'Y2K compliance means that the entire infrastructure has been tested as a system. Message 3791506 3/1998 TECHNICAL From: 'Nuclear Utilities Software Management Group'-site Message 3715099 EPRI: Second Workshop on Y2K Embedded Microprocessor Problems in the Electric Power Industry May 4-7, 1998 Message 3711857 EPRI Research Questionnaire: will there be electrical power? epri.com Message 3010141 EPRI Electrical Power Research Institute Y2K site - long post epriweb.com Message 3294734 EPRI Research Questionnaire: will there be electrical power? epri.com Message 3010141 From Rick Cowles well known site on utilities: 'the proposed GL is much stronger than the industry anticipated' Message 3294495 'the industry needs to understand the intense pressure that the NRC is feeling on the issue' '...one electric company that's got the guts to publicly recognize that Y2K's an issue for them' Rick Cowles, 16/10/1997 on C.S.Y2K Message 3168272 Questions to be asked to your local electric company Message 3125740 Y2K-EMBEDDED - the local General Electric plant in Salem, Va had to shut down for an extra week' Message 3124716 Utility Y2K project in SW of GB Message 3017136 swebuk.com Message 3017120 'A priority is updating computer systems that control power-plant operations' From the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio dispatch.com Message 3311107 'NRC GENERIC LETTER NO. 98-XX: YEAR 2000 READINESS OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS' News on the NRC - Nuclear Regulatory Commission: nrc.gov Message 3314692 Utilities zero in on Year 2000 problems stlnet.com. 'Utilities zero in on Year 2000 problem This seems to be a starting point for an inventory; but it has not progressed much up till now, IMO. Message 3553059 epriweb.com Ed Yourdon Replies to a Critic - also on electric utilities '1998-03-02 12:00:02 There are approx 9,000 electric utility plants in the U.S., including 108 nuclear plants, and at the present time (Feb 25, 1998), NONE of them are Y2K compliant. None.' Message 3576296 American Public Power Association - conference: Y2k issues will be a major topic of discussion' Message 3612686 When: March 15 - 19, 1998 Frightening reading: Rick Cowles on Y2K status in the utilities Cowles is the authority on Y2K in the electric utility industry. Message 3508108 Feb/1998 _____________________________________ Automotive industry AIAG: "they are bringing in European and Japanese automakers to broaden the initiative." Message 3662387 3/98 'The undertaking by the automotive industry via AIAG is massive. With nearly 50 000 Tier-1 suppliers and 500 000 total suppliers throughout the chain...' '....AIAG Assessment Certified and asked if he would care to comment.' Message 3474233 'Videotape contains the key highlights of AIAG's Executive Briefings for Supplier Management on the Year 2000 challenge.' The video also covers Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors expectations for their suppliers' Year 2000 capability and compliance. Message 3612408 '.. GM wants status from all their suppliers' You have some leverage with the senior trading partner if they want the compliance status of the minor partner. For example, GM wants status from all their suppliers, so the suppliers have an avenue to ask for data on GM.' Message 3632553 ____________________________________ Supply chain ' 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 Message 3459595 ____________________________________ Apron services x4.dejanews.com. 3&hitnum=2 'I'm told Royal Dutch/Shell has just undertaken a pilot project at Schipol airport (Amsterdam) to look at Y2K compliance in apron services

To: John Mansfield who wrote (283)	3/28/1998 2:09:00 PM
From: Roleigh Martin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 618

Re: Fred Swirbul's comments... It's hard to argue with someone about a specific plant, and a specific company. He may be right, he may be wrong. I do know that he is not looking at the big picture for coal, as he is ignoring the issues at the railroads, and the petroleum industry. At a local coal-based plant in Minnesota, it burns three trainloads of coal a day! I believe it was ComputerWorld that reported that Union Pacific was now doing embedded systems testing of their emebedded systems having gotten poor results of doing vendor questionnaires. The railroads are dependent upon the petroleum industry (refineries, oil tanker ships, oil platforms, oil wells--all with numerous embedded system devices, and a recent industry survey said that the petroleum industry was behind schedule). My personal preference is to relocate near a hydroelectric utility company who supplies their customers 100% solely by hydroelectric energy and who has no other types of power plants and where the region is mostly rural. And additionally, the utility has joined the Electric Power Research Institute Y2k program. By the way, the EPRI no longer lists the companies who have joined their program for public viewing. I stupidly never saved that web page. Does anyone have that page saved where the list of utilities who have joined EPRI Y2k Program is named? If so, please forward to me. p.s. I made some interesting new additions to my late news page last night. Check them out! -Roleigh ourworld.compuserve.com

To: John Mansfield who wrote (283)	3/29/1998 5:00:00 AM
From: John Mansfield	Respond to of 618

TECHNICAL - but interesting! Reaction on Fred Swirbul by Rick Cowles This is a reaction to the more optimistic view of Frd Swirbul (also posted here; this post replies to it). John ______________________ 'For the 'big boys' (large utility co's), I generally agree with Fred. However, when I make a consulting trip to a large, 2 unit nuclear facility that hasn't even gotten really started with their Y2k program (part time program manager; no dedicated resources; next outage planning already frozen), I've gotta wonder. My primary current concern is the 'second tier' power companies - the coop's and muni's that ain't got squat in resources (money or bodies) to throw at this thing. It only takes a few concurrent burps on the regional grids to take them down. T&D is the key to this thing. I'm just not seeing much of anything happening in the T&D sector; I guess that's why EPRI is focusing much of the May meeting in Dallas on T&D. The bottom line is: Because of the interconnectedness via the ISO (Independent System Operator), a "David" (small electric co-op) can take down a "Goliath" (such as a Pacific Gas and Electric). And it doesn't take much. A few short comments follow: On Sat, 28 Mar 1998 03:25:50 GMT, in comp.software.year-2000 you wrote: >1) Most base load power plants operated by U.S. electric utilities are OLD. Ehhhh....maybe not so true out east here. Within 5 miles either side of my house (I can see the stacks from my windows) I've got nearly 1200MW of brandy new cogen projects that Atlantic Energy absolutely depends on as 'baseload'. AE shutdown 3 of their 5 Deepwater generating units when these plants came online, 2 and 3 years ago, respectively. >The nuke plants were generally the last major base load plants to be >put on line, mostly '75-'85. These plants were designed 10 years earlier >(i.e not particulary high tech). Relatively few computer systems. >Essentailly no embedded systems. Most fossil fuel plants were built >before then and hydro plants definately were. > To some extent I agree. However (I was part of the PSE&G construction team at Hope Creek and spent the better part of 14 years there), I shudder when I think about the old Honeywell mainframe running the CRIDS (control room integrated display) system, the recent installation of digital feedwater (two outages ago), stupid stuff like loose parts monitoring, and all the UPS's. I have long lists of problems being found at supposedly 'older' plants; hey, design changes happen all the time to update and modernize. >THIS IS NOT TO SAY THERE AREN'T SIGNIFICANT Y2K PROBLEMS IN THE ELCTRIC >INDUSTRY, but it does make the problem easier to solve than in other >industries. > >Say 50% of the installed computer systems do have problems (our rate >is 12 of 26). But these are systems that mostly monitor the plant, only >sometimes control it, and therefore don't usually cause a plant trip. >Upgrades have occured over the years, especially in coal plants and older >nuclear plants, but these new systems are the ones the engineers then >know the best, both for the inventory and the assessment phases of any >Y2K program. Embedded systems have also crept in, and yes some do have >problems (I don't have good numbers yet to provide actual failure rates >of our embedded systems devices). However, unlike other industries, MOST I would agree with this too with the exception of the statement 'new systems are the ones the engineers know the best'. With the current rage of downsizing, a lot of plants have turned over personnel so frequently recently, that a fear of mine is that the experience base and history isn't there anymore in some cases. >2) Most Y2K utility remediation is being driven the NRC, directly or indirectly. > >Nuke plants are effectively already being driven by the Nuclear Regulatory >Commision (NRC) to address the Y2K problem. Their owner/operators are >smart and are including their fossil plants in their company's Y2K plans. >This ensures two things. 1) Most US Electric Utility base load plants >have a Y2K plan in place, and 2) There is senior management sponsorship >and involvement in the project. UTILITIES ARE GENERALLY GOOD AT SOLVING >LARGE, WELL DEFINED, ENGINEERING PROBLEMS. Look at the current technical >state of the electric grid and the reliability of the generation, >transmission and distribution systems that supply power to your home. >Maybe not the highest tech equipment (which is good when considering Y2K), >but very high reliability. Definitely disagree with number 2. There may be 'sponsorship', but there isn't 'leadership' and direct involvement. The focus has been, and will continue to be, cutting costs at the expense of everything else. If PG&E is different in this regard, my apologies for the generalization. >3) Utilities have the money to pay for Y2K fixes. See my previous comment about muni's and coop's. PG&E may. Duke Energy may. But it's a real financial strain for companies like Oglethorpe Power Co-op G&T. And there's more Oglethorpe's than Duke's. >A newer nuke plant may have cost a couple billion to build. Yearly O&M >and fuel budgets are hundreds of millions. Yeah, it may cost a million >to fix a complex and badly non-compliant DCS or other computer system. >Total Y2K budget (excluding payroll) may be 2-10 million (very rough numbers >for now) for the entire Y2K problem at a nuke plant. But it won't break the bank. The ones with this kind of budget don't bother me. But the dual unit nuke plant I spoke of above currently has a Y2k budget of around $200,000. Two units. 2600MW. They are not the only nuke in this predicament, either. >CLOSING - Anyone who accurately predicts "now" what will really happen >"then" is just lucky. My only basis for these statements is my current Y2K >work in the US electric utilities and talking to others at different utilities. >My current prediction is no widespread power outages. The U.S. western states power >grid suffered a geographically large power outage in August of 1996 for a couple of hours. >Y2K will not cause a problem that large. After being at an industry conference in Portland last month, and listening to one of the operators of the western grid speak (detailed explanation of the failure mechanisms, right down to overheads of the chart traces of the failures), I would disagree. The western grid was very lucky to get things back that quickly. Again, Y2k isn't going to be a single failure point (and it's going to be common mode failure) - as one industry rep at that conference said - "Death by a thousand paper cuts". -- Rick Cowles (Public PGP key on request) "Electric Utilities and Y2k" euy2k.com ____________ Subject: Re: Y2K & Electric Utilities - Not Bad News Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 11:00:55 -0500 From: rcowles@waterw.com (Rick Cowles) Organization: What's that? Newsgroups: comp.software.year-2000 References: 1