The Problem

The Year 2000, or Y2K bug affects computer hardware and software which only recognize the last two digits of the year. Put simply, the year is represented as "99" instead of "1999". Not enough numbers are stored to tell the whole story. Making decisions without enough information is a bad idea for people, and the same applies to computers. For example, if you ask a spreadsheet program with the year 2000 problem what your monthly car payments will be for the next two years, it may tell you that you should pay $350 per month in 1999, and $350 per month in 1900. If you ask it how old you will be then, it may tell you -65 instead of 35.

Not all computers and software programs have the Y2K bug, and not all that have the bug will cause problems. The examples above are fine if you are doing the calculation at home, they become problematic when the computer in question is at your bank or life insurance company. So, it is a good idea to try to gather enough information to make good decisions about what you should or should not be worried about.

In general, banks and life insurance companies have too much to lose by not fixing the problem. When a company is potentially liable for billions of dollars in damages if things go wrong, they tend to be very thorough when fixing the problem. You can be reasonably certain that your money is safe, your insurance policies are safe, planes will not fall out of the sky, and the lights will not go out on your New Years's 2000 party. Still, you should be interested in what your business partners are doing to solve the problem, and how they guarantee you will be protected.

Assessing the Risk

Friendship Centres and the OFIFC have many business partners: banks, insurers, program funders, other community organizations, other Friendship Centres, financial managers, travel agencies, accountants, and more. Make a list of your business partners and think of what each provides. Every one that provides an essential service to your organization should be contacted and asked what they are doing to both eliminate the bug, and what contingency plans are in place if the bug turns out not to be fixed. This should be documented.

Closer to home, there are many computers and computer-dependent devices in Friendship Centres: Desktop computers, phone systems, alarm systems, postage meters, heating/cooling systems, and medical devices. For any essential systems, you should contact either the vendor or the manufacturer to find out whether the product can be affected by the Y2K problem. If so, find out what steps are being taken to address the problem. This should be documented.

The risk to your computers comes in two parts: hardware and software. Hardware is easy to test; you can run a program in two minutes which will tell you if the computer's clock recognises 4-digits years. The OFIFC publishes Standards for Desktop Computer Purchases on its Web Site, and all computers purchased since 1998 have been required to be Y2K compliant. These standards have been produced for over two years now and if you have not been following them, you should start.

To assess software, use the OFIFC Online Library's Year 2000 section. It has a wealth of Year 2000 information about common software -- WordPerfect, Word, AccPac, and more. You should take a basic inventory of what software you have installed, and then refer to the OFIFC site to find out whether your software is compliant.

The more difficult part of software is what you have saved with it, especially spreadsheets and financial data. All employees should be asked if they use features of their spreadsheet or financial software to either calculate dates or to project future dates. Those that do should be asked to make sure their systems work with year 2000 dates as soon as possible.

You will no doubt think of other risks to your organization ranging from postal meters to legal obligations. In every case, assess the risk, decide if it needs immediate attention, and plan from there.

Contingency Plans

After assessing the risk and making plans to fix all that can be fixed, make a plan in case things go wrong. For example, even though third quarter statistics will not be required until the middle of January, it would be a good idea to make a copy before you leave for your New Year's party. Fortunately, few if any of our services depend on computers for delivery, but for those that do (like computer-based training, resume writing, and Internet job searches), your clients will be happier if you have a plan.

Your contingency plans should include what to do if problems continue beyond a few days and provide indicators for when to escalate the action, and when to return to normal. Your contingency plans may stretch outside the Friendship Centre to schools, clinics, hospitals, and other organizations. Cooperation is good and now is a fine time to start talking to them about what plans you can make together.

If people are expected to be a part of the plan, they should be aware of the plan. Once you have a contingency plan in place everyone involved should be informed and trained on it, and it should be tested as well as possible.

The OFIFC

The OFIFC is taking steps to ensure a smooth transition to the year 2000. We have assessed all computers and software, upgraded computers to a minimum standard, upgraded our bookkeeping system, and are working on the rest. By October 1, 1999 we plan to be 100% ready.

Further Information

• OFIFC Year 2000 Home Page - Information and links to many software companies and other Year 2000 resources.
• Year 2000: Technology Checklist for Small Business - This is a simple, step-by-step evaluation of your Y2K readiness, and covers many of the areas discussed above.

• Y2KCheck - Test the clock for the Y2K bug on DOS-based computers (Windows 3.1, Windows for WQorkgroups, etc.).
• Year2000.com - A fix for the clock on non-compliant computers. This program should be installed by someone knowledgeable with computers. This program should be called by autoexec.bat. Documentation for year2000.com can be found here.