Tamzin Hindmarch
Mission impossible or mission accomplished? Just how confident is the US Federal Aviation Administration about beating the Millennium Bug?
In this year's Aviation System Capital Investment Plan, prepared for the US Congress in January, the FAA committed itself to ensuring all its systems would be certified Y2K by 30 June, 1999.
This will allow a six-month breathing period in which any last-minute changes can be made.
Speaking from the FAA stand at this year's air show, representative Tom Rodriguez says: "We have reached a stage where we can say that we are confident that we will be ready.
"We know that here in Paris many of the questions people will want to know the answers to will be Y2K related. We will be able to offer advice if anyone has doubts as to whether their own business will be compliant.
"But it is up to the individual to make sure they test their equipment and meet our requirements now and in the future."
Technically, theY2K bug is not hard to beat. The problem is finding it.
The FAA, like many other major organisations, uses a vast number of systems and computer languages every day, offering gremlins plenty of places to hide.
Networks
Computer servers, networks, telecommunication systems and radar systems are just the tip of the iceberg.
Confronted with the enormous task of finding and resolving problems before it was too late, a centralised Y2K Program Office was established in February 1998. Its first challenge was to identify and divide a total of 638 systems into two categories.
Of the total, 425 are mission-critical; a further 213 are as non-mission-critical. As a result, the FAA has been able to prioritise system repairs and reallocate resources where needed.
A five-phase repair process was devised and every system put through the paces of awareness, assessment, renovation, validation and implementation.
Source: Flight Daily News
