Step 1 - Inventory and Triage
The initial goal is to create a list of equipment used in daily operations that need to be further checked for Y2K problems. Rather than performing an exhaustive inventory (unless there is already a reliable list), we recommend going through each lab and seeing what is being used. Any unused equipment, by definition, is probably of low priority and can generally be ignored. (The concept of triage, here, is to avoid spending money on remediating Y2K issues for unimportant equipment.)

Equipment that does not require electrical power, and does not have a built-in power source such as a battery, is not a problem. It also can be ignored, or labeled as "Y2K okay" if desired (see below for additional information on labeling).

A useful procedure is to classify all other equipment (equipment in use, with a power source) as Critical, Important, or Unimportant.

• Critical: an essential item of equipment (failure or malfunction would have a significant impact on research progress), or definitely contains an embedded system, or strong possibility of Y2K issue (has a clock/date function) These systems must be checked with the manufacturer (see Step 4).

For each piece of equipment classified as "critical", place it on a list that includes the location and the manufacturer, model number and serial number. This information will be needed when contacting manufacturers or vendors (Step 4).

• Important: would affect health or safety if it failed or malfunctioned would slow research progress if the item were to fail or malfunction, or may contain an embedded system. These systems should probably be checked with the manufacturer (Steps 2 and 3 help refine this).

• Unimportant: a non-essential item of equipment, or unlikely to include an embedded system These systems need not be checked.

For example, a single spectrometer may be made up of a main unit plus a vacuum pump, cooling system, injection system, printer, and so on. Each one of these individual components should be considered. It is also important to consider any shared or common-area equipment essential to research, even if the equipment was not purchased by the lab using it.

Examples of Equipment to Consider (This is neither an exhaustive list nor is it suggested these example systems are Y2K non-compliant. These are merely the types of equipment likely to contain embedded systems.) Autoclaves, Centrifuges, Chemical sensors, Chromatography systems (GC, HPLC), Complex Microscope Systems, Cooling/heating systems, Electrophoresis systems, Fluorescence Instruments, Gamma counters, Imaging equipment, Laser equipment, Logic analyzers, NMR machines, PCRs, Personal computer interface cards and embedded systems connected to a personal computer, Polarimeters, Sampling equipment, Scintillation counters, Sequence Analyzers, Sonicators, Spectrometers (AA, MS, ICP), Spectrophotometers (UV/Vis, IR), Spectrum analyzers, Sterilizers, Synthesizers, Thermal Analysis Equipment (Calorimeters, DMA, etc.), Vacuum systems, Water treatment, X-ray equipment. Any equipment that is mission critical!

Step 2 - Determine if Equipment Definitely Needs to be Checked with the Manufacturer
This series of questions should be asked about each piece of equipment identified as "Important", above:

• Is this equipment known to contain an embedded processor with a clock, or have an embedded processor and get a timing signal from another piece of equipment?

• Does this equipment implement a timed control sequence or operate on a timed basis (data sampling, timed signals or alarms, temperature adjustments based on timed intervals, etc.)?

• Does this equipment calculate totals, averages, rates, trends, etc., or does it produce any time- based or historical data?

• Does this equipment exchange data with other components, computers or computer peripherals?

• Does this equipment have an automatic shutdown/startup sequence that depends on a schedule or maintenance cycle?

If the answer to any of the questions is YES, the equipment should be added to the list of potentially non-compliant equipment and subject to further review (see Step 4). For each such piece of equipment, record the manufacturer, model number and serial number. This information will be needed when contacting manufacturers or vendors (Step 4).

If the answer to all the above questions is either NO or DON'T KNOW, proceed to step 3.

Step 3 - Identify Equipment that Needs no Further Y2K Assessment
Many common lab tools may contain embedded systems but still are not likely to have Y2K problems. Equipment can be safely ignored if it has no means of setting a date, has no internal battery, and does not connect to other equipment.

Also, the following are probably not subject to Y2K problems:

• analog equipment: amplifiers, temperature controllers, and meters;

• hand held instruments: digital multimeters, RLC meters, ammeters, thermometers, pH meters;

• common bench top electronic equipment: digital multimeters, pulse generators, power supplies, wave generators, ion gauges and most oscilloscopes.

Note: It is strongly recommended that equipment which has been checked, and whose status has been determined to be okay, be labeled as such. Labeling prevents duplication of effort when shared equipment is involved. It provides a secondary record of the results of the survey, identifying each piece of equipment that has been surveyed, so that anything without a label can be presumed to be unassessed, either because it was missed or because it was deemed unimportant, and may be subject to problems if it is ever used. Labeling may be done by putting a symbol (for example, with permanent magic marker) on the UC equipment tag (not obscuring the bar code) or by attaching another label (such as a small green Y2K OK sticker).

Step 4 - Find Out the Y2K Status of Critical and Important Equipment
At the end of the first three steps (triage and inventory, and detailed analysis), there should be a list containing the manufacturer, model number and serial number of all research equipment that is either critical to research work or otherwise needs further assessment as to whether it has a Y2K problem. The next action is to contact the manufacturers to get the Y2K status of that equipment. Since most manufacturers publish Y2K information on their web sites, we recommend starting with the world wide web. Four options are:

     Try www.[insert vendor's name here].com. Or, if there is recent information from the vendor, check that to see if it includes a web site (URL).

    Look at lists and databases published on the web for specific types of equipment. For all biological and medical equipment, the best starting place is the NIH Biomedical Clearinghouse, which includes direct links to many manufacturers' Y2K web pages. Many electronics manufacturers can be found at www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/grid/6729/ep/ep.htm.

     For equipment purchased through a distributor (or which could have been), check the list of common UC equipment vendors and their web sites.

     Use a web search engine to locate a manufacturer's home page. Often there will be a link from the home page to Y2K information for that manufacturer's products. (If an equipment manufacturer has changed its name since the equipment was purchased, or the manufacturer has been bought out by another corporation, an Internet search for the company's previous name may lead to the new name, particularly if the previous name is listed on the new web site.)

If you can't find the manufacturer on the web, contact them by phone or letter and ask for the Y2K status of the equipment in question.

If you cannot determine the Y2K status of a critical piece of equipment, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TEST THE EQUIPMENT FOR Y2K PROBLEMS (see below). There is a chance you could immediately and permanently disable the equipment. More information about testing can be found here.

In cases where no information is available you must decide whether to replace the equipment or accept any consequences that may result if the equipment is not Y2K compatible. If the manufacturer has gone out of business altogether, checking the Y2K compliance of its products may be impossible. In that case, it may be wisest to replace the equipment.

Step 5 - Decide what to do about Non-Compliant Equipment
If you find that a piece of equipment is known not to be Y2K-compatible, check with the manufacturer to see if there is an upgrade. For example, sometimes software patches can be downloaded from the manufacturer's their web site. If the equipment is covered by a maintenance and service agreement, check with the vendor to see if Y2K upgrades are covered. Finally, if the equipment was purchased after December 1997, check with the UCB Procurement and Business Contracts department to determine if the purchase order for the equipment required the vendor to make the equipment Y2K compatible.

When no upgrades are available, determine the extent of the problem, based on information from the manufacturer, and replace the equipment if necessary. Some Y2K problems will only result in an inconvenience that can be tolerated (such as having to manually reset the date when the machine is turned on). Other problems could result in the unscheduled operation, or the failure to operate, of the equipment, which might be intolerable.

Finally, once the Y2K status is known, mark equipment to show its Y2K status. It is especially important that any common-area equipment whose Y2K status has been checked be labeled, in order to prevent duplication of effort.

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