With just over 600 days to go before we reach the Year 2000, organisations everywhere must assess the effect on their operations and systems of the ‘millennium bug’. Brisbane City Council is tackling the problem by establishing the Year 2000 Compliance Plan Project.
Finance Committee Chairperson, Councillor John Campbell, said the launch of the Year 2000 Project was a definite step in the right direction, addressing computer issues which could have the potential to cause havoc in the future.
“Lifts could stop, buses could grind to a halt, traffic lights could literally stop working or sewerage plants could stop functioning altogether. Already we have experienced a little taste of what could happen,” he said, referring to Brisbane’s recent power failure which graphically illustrated the reliance on computer technology.
“Brisbane City Council has taken a proactive role in looking after the ratepayers, employees, and the business community’s interests in averting major computer problems as we approach 2000. The Council’s role is a preventative one in that we understand that many computer systems and devices controlled by computer chips only recognise the last two digits in the year 2000.
“Because so many services, facilities and resources are controlled by computers there could be chaos when the new millennium hits us.”
The Year 2000 Compliance Project team, which comprises 20 experts in IT drawn from both within and outside Council, has been working around the clock since last year. They are assessing all hardware, software, and any other systems involving a computerised clock, right across Brisbane City Council.
“We want to make sure that business throughout Brisbane continues efficiently and effectively through to the Year 2000 and beyond,” John Campbell said.
Many projects are now being initiated to repair or replace systems that could have the potential to cause problems.
For further information contact Project Manager Joscelyn McBain, telephone (07) 3403 9431.
