ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook August 21, 1998 Volume 3, No. 31 Published by the Information Technology Association of America, Arlington, VA Bob Cohen, Editor bcohen@itaa.org Read in over 70 countries around the world ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook is published every Friday to help all organizations deal more effectively with the Year 2000 software conversion. To create a subscription to this free publication, please visit ITAA on the web at https://www.itaa.org/transact/2koutlooksub.htm. To cancel an existing subscription, visit https://www.itaa.org/transact/2kremove.htm. ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook is sponsored in part by CACI International Inc., DMR Consulting Group Inc., and Y2Kplus Chemical Industry Turns Up Heat on Y2K Issue An ounce of Y2K prevention is worth a pound of cure. Particularly in the chemicals industry, where accidents, spills and other mishaps can be the formula for dangerous and even deadly results. Industry representatives will meet with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board next month to help the agency better understand what impact the Year 2000 will have on chemical manufacturers-and its investigative workload. According to Chemical Safety Board Chairman Paul Hill Jr., such discussions will help his agency assess its position relative to the Year 2000. According to Hill, the chemical manufacturing industry is increasingly reliant on technology. Hill says the industry's workforce is lower and productivity higher today than ever before. He wants to be sure that such reliance does not cause the industry to trip on the date, leading to a series of safety related problems and incidents. "We need a better assessment of the issue," Hill says, noting that even without the century rollover problem, the National Response Center for chemical incidents already logs 2000 calls per month. The drip, drip, dripping of toxic chemicals sounding the arrival of the new century may be what has prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to take recent regulatory action. EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance has posted a draft Y2K action plan on the Internet which warns the regulated community it must take "whatever steps are necessary" to assure continued full compliance with environmental laws and regulations. EPA is concerned about vulnerabilities to business operations and to data gathering and reporting. "Failure to comply with requirements because of Year 2000 problems will be considered violations and may result in enforcement actions including the assessment of penalties," the draft plan warns. But EPA also appears ready to cut small time violators a bit of millennium slack. In its advice to regulators, the agency suggests that violation responses should involve a case by case judgment, using "enforcement discretion" to select priority cases and giving "special consideration to small businesses whose ability to avoid this crisis could be severely limited by lack of funds." Meanwhile, the chemical manufacturers themselves appear to be taking any overly dire predictions about the calendar crisis with a grain of NaCl. After a thorough in-house review, one observer indicated that worst case scenarios are not the likely outcome s: "We're not concerned about plants blowing up or major chemical releases," says David Kurland, counsel at a global manufacturer of specialty chemicals and active participant with the Chemical Manufacturers Association (CMA). Kurland says that his company found that an assessment of its in plant operating processes found very few with date dependent functions. Kurland indicates that not only are dates not a common part of the chemical processing mix, but systems have multiple layers of redundancy, control room operators and manual over rides to assure safe operation. Others are not so sure. "Even if a system doesn't know about a date, the equipment might," says Leon Kappelman, chairman of the Y2K Working Group at the Society for Information Management. "Let's say engineering specifies a chip with 20 features," Kappelman explains. "Procurement people go out and find that chip with 20 with features, while ignoring the fact that it also has 200 more. One of those may be critical to the continued operation of the chip." He says firms may be evaluating just the functi ons they utilize with a given unit while overlooking the rest. Kappelman also says that regardless of the redundancy and backup companies have in place, virtually all firms lack a frame of reference for dealing with multiple, simultaneous plant system failures. And that's not to say the Y2K can't cause problems to compound elsewhere in the enterprise. On the business information systems side of the house, dates factor into order placement, materials purchasing, product management, inventory tracking, sales, accounting, finance, electronic data interchange, shipping and other functions. Kurland says that his company has largely completed its system remediation program and is "deep" into testing. He thinks other large chemical companies are similarly advanced. Like others in other industries, Kurland is concerned not so much about the performance of his company, but the preparedness of the firm's supply chain partners. "We're working like beavers, but we don't know about suppliers," Kurland says, noting that a missed shipment of a very important raw material could set into motion a disruptive and costly chain reaction. If suppliers remain a question mark, at least the chemical manufacturing firms are talking to each other. CMA began providing what one official calls the "tables and chairs" for this exchange last April. Donald Cohn, lead counsel for Y2K issues at Dupont, says industry attorneys have been working in a number of areas, including a voluntary pledge among members to pursue Y2K compliance and provide limited liability relief for upstream and downstream supply chain disruptions; a standard questionnaire to p rovide Y2K status and preparedness information; inter-company information exchange; and contingency planning. And while some might say the hour is late and the group's collaboration has been slow to start, Harri Haikala, counsel at Vulcan Materials Co. and CMA member, disagrees. "What can industry do as a group? Information sharing. And I think that that works better after companies have gained some experience to relate." Group Backs Y2K Legislation A broad based group of industry associations has written President Clinton to back H.R. 4455, the Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure Act, introduced by Representatives David Dreier (R-CA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA). While commending the Administration for introdu cing its own version of a bill to facilitate Y2K related information sharing, the Y2K Industry Working Group, with members ranging from aerospace companies to valve manufacturers, told Clinton that H.R. 4455 is the most effective approach. The group note s that Y2K is not business as usual and requires working together on a bipartisan basis. "Your support of H.R. 4455 will go a long way in encouraging information exchange…The economic viability and security of our country requires immediate action," the group noted. Manufacturers Gain Green Light on Information Sharing The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has been given the go-ahead by the Justice Department to share information. NAM sought permission to allow its members to share Y2K related information without fear of anti-trust litigation. A group spokes person said the Justice Department determination will allow businesses of every size to publicize information to reduce Y2K risks. Closer to Home Global Y2K Summit Planned A broad coalition of international trade associations and intergovernmental organizations has unveiled plans for a Global Summit on the Year 2000 conversion challenge. The Summit will take place on October 15 and 16 in London. This "by invitation-only" event will mark the first time major multilateral governmental organizations and multinational business organizations will sit down to exchange views and experiences on the Year 2000. The Global Year 2000 Summit is being organized by the World Bank, the Joint Year 2000 Coordinating Committee (Bank for International Settlements), the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Telecommunications Users Group, the World Information Technology and Services Alliance, Global 2000 Coordinating Committee, and the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). The group hopes the Summit will bring together policy-makers from the developed and developing world as well as private sector experts to exchange experiences on the Year 2000. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has been invited to address the summit. Other confirmed speakers include Francis Cairncross, Senior Editor, The Economist; Roger W. Ferguson, Chairman, Joint Year 2000 Coordinating Committee and Federal Reserve Board Governor; Ron Balls, Chairman of the International Telecommunication Union's Year 2000 Task Force and British Telecom's Year 2000 Network Compliance Manager; and Fuad Udemans of South Africa's National Year 2000 Decision Support Center. The Summit will take place at the Stakis Metropole Hotel in London. For more information on attending the Summit, please contact Ms. Zoe Hemming at + 44 171 395 67117 or at zoe.hemming@cssa.co.uk. Business to Business Data Dimensions, Inc., Bellevue, WA, has won a follow-on Y2K contract with Ross Stores, Inc. Sterling Software, Inc., San Francisco, CA, has announced the availability of VISION:Phaseshift, which allows companies to insulate MVS applications from Y2K date issues with virtually no changes to application code or data. Complete Business Solutions, Inc., Farmington Hills, MI, has been awarded a Y2K contract by Crittenton Hospital of Rochester. BigiSoft Inc., Richardson, TX, has selected Michael Dillard as Vice President of Government Systems. Strategia Corporation, Louisville, KY, has been awarded a Y2K contract by Johnson City Medical Center. Science Applications International Corporation, San Diego, CA, has won Y2K contracts with Children's Hospital Oakland, Baptist Health System and Bon Secours Health System, Inc. ITAA Y2K Information Center Solution Providers Directory http://www.itaa.org/script/2000vend.cfm ITAA*2000 Certification Program http://www.itaa.org/2000cert.htm Outlook Archive http://www.itaa.org/script/get2klet.cfm Legislative and Litigation Table http://www.itaa.org/Y2Klaw.htm Calendar http://www.itaa.org/y2kcal.htm Vendor/User Status Questionnaires http://www.itaa.org/questmain1.htm Copyright ITAA 1998. All rights reserved. The Information Technology Association of America, 1616 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300, Arlington, VA 22209. Internet: http:\\www.itaa.org