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Town of Lexington
Year 2000 Readiness Program
1999 Report to Town Meeting
Respectfully Submitted By•
The Y2K Team
Karen Simmons,Project Manager
Ray Carberry, Citizen
Steve Con,Police
Steve Ellis, School Information Technology
Arthur Flavin, Revenue
William Hadley,DPW
Cynthia Johnson, Library
Joseph Marino,Economic Development
John Moynihan, School
Connie Rawson, MIS
Victor Rivera, MIS
Beth Anne Sobieszczyk, TMO
Peter Torode, Fire
April 7, 1999
Town of Lexington
Year 2000 Readiness Program
Report to 1999 Town Meeting
Introduction and the Purpose of this Plan
The Lexington Year 2000 Team was formed to study the potential impacts on Town governmental functions due to
the transition to the new millennium and to work to mitigate any impacts.See Appendix 1 for the organization chart
of the Team.The Team's mission is to achieve seamless processing for all of the town's systems and applications,
resulting in uninterrupted operations and service to the community
The Lexington Y2K Team goals are to understand,plan,and educate the Town about potential issues with
computer hardware and software,electronic devices,receipt of third party services,and the ability to provide Town
services at the turn of the century The Team is responsible for identifying any potential issues,assessing,and
testing and remediating any situations that might impact the provision of Town services because of Year 2000
technology-related causes.Our primary goal is to ensure that the level of Town services is maintained at the current
level.
Y2K technology-related causes are identified as incorrect storage of dates,incorrect date arithmetic and non-
recognition of the 2000 leap year The Town's Y2K program charts a method that the Town can use to identify and
correct systems that may be affected by Y2K.The program distinguishes between types of systems,delineates
responsibilities,and creates a reporting mechanism for periodic updates to Town officials.
Essentially,each department is being asked to conduct a detailed assessment of its own computer systems,
embedded technology,and suppliers of goods and services to determine which entities are truly at risk.This
assessment will be centralized and managed on two levels:through the Y2K Team and within departments. Based
on this we can then determine appropriate actions to avoid disruptions.Depending on the criticality of the entity
and the potential impact of its failure,actions will range from"do nothing"to replacing the piece of equipment or
finding a new supplier A contingency plan will be developed for all critical systems to deal with the consequences
of that entity's failure.
Summary of the Issue
The Y2K issue,or bug,as it is sometimes called,was created in the early days of computers,when memory in
computers was scarce and expensive.Programmers took shortcuts whenever possible to save space in the memory
Instead of using a four-digit code for year dates,a two-digit entry was used.This practice persisted,long after the
need for saving space was eliminated.This same issue occurs in electronic chips(control chips,or embedded
chips).Electronic chips that are date sensitive control many of today's convenience items.Electronic thermostats,
traffic controls,lighting controls,burglar alarms,time locks,VCRs,fax machines,and even something as
innocuous as a coffee maker are dependent on knowing the date.
The hypothesis is that when the year 2000 comes,programs that have been coded with two-digit year codes will not
distinguish between the years 2000 and 1900 Results are unpredictable if the program includes time-sensitive
calculations or comparisons.No one knows what issues may occur,how widespread,or how long the issues will
last.The good news is that federal,state,and local governments;banks and other financial institutions,retail
businesses;and many other groups affected by this issue have been working to resolve it,and a great deal of
progress has been made.
Most people anticipate that Y2K issues may happen at midnight on December 31, 1999 Some experts predict that
the issue is more likely to persist over the course of a few years rather than a single"crash."Also,the year 2000 is a
leap year,and the leap year date 02/29/00 may be an issue for some computer programs as well.Also,we do not
expect that the Y2K issue will simply go away at the turn of the century There are other dates well into the year
2000 that we will need our attention.For example,the October 10 in the year 2000 is the first"6-digit"date in the
new year,and could cause some problems for computers that store the date as DDMMYY
Town of Lexington Year 2000 Town Meeting Report 2
April 7, 1999
There also is some concern regarding fiscal year 2000 dates in those organizations with fiscal years that end earlier
than December 31, 1999 There may be a computer-based issue with other specific dates,such as April 7, 1999,
which is the 99th day of 1999,or on 9/9/99 In the past,a series of nines was used to indicate termination of a
computer program,and some experts believe that when all nines show up in a date sequence,some computer
systems could read it as a program termination command.
Lexington's Y2K Team believes that the best effort we can make now is to determine what may be affected and try
to resolve these issues as we can.An inventory of Town equipment,services,and supporting services will let us
know what potential issues may have to be resolved.The course of resolution itself can take many forms:fixing the
issue,replacing the questionable software or equipment,redefining the service provided or relied upon,or even
determining that the issue can be safely ignored.
Our Action Plan
1 Awareness and Organizing for Action
2. Inventorying Systems,Equipment,and Interfaces with the Outside
3 Assessing the Situation
4 Fixing and Testing for Compliance,Conversion and Replacement
5 Contingency Planning,Validation and Deployment
Time Line for Action
Item Begin Date Projected End Date
Awareness and Organizing for Action November 1998 End of Project
Inventorying Systems,Equipment,and Interfaces with the December 30, 1998 February 26, 1999
Outside
Assessing and ranking systems according to how critical the January 30, 1999 April 30, 1999
system is to the Town.
Fixing and Testing for Compliance,Conversion and February 28, 1999 September 30, 1999
Replacement
Contingency Planning,Validation and Deployment March 15, 1999 June 30, 1999
1.Awareness and Organizing for Action
The Senior Management Team believes that it is best to address the Y2K issue comprehensively We have chosen
to approach the issue from a centralized standpoint,and begin to share information and resources across
departments.To this end,the Y2K Team was created to continue,intensify and organize the work the Town has
already begun on Y2K. The Team is comprised of staff who either has been involved in technology their respective
departments or has expressed an interest in addressing the challenges that the Town faces.Karen Simmons,
Recreation Director,a member of the Senior Management Team volunteered to be the Project Manager to oversee
the Y2K Team.The Lexington Y2K Team was formed in October 1998. See Appendix I for the organization chart
of the Team.
In an effort to involve more Town employees,the Y2K Team decided to organize itself into a series of teams.The
subteams are Awareness/Communication,Vendor Management,Testing and Remediation,and Contingency
Planning. These teams are responsible for managing different aspects of the plan,and report to the Y2K Team,
which is responsible for managing the entire process.
Town of Lexington Year 2000 Town Meeting Report 3
April 7, 1999
2.Inventorying Systems,Equipment,and Interfaces with the Outside
The first step in the process was to conduct an inventory of all Town systems that may be affected by the Y2K bug.
The Y2K Team decided that the most efficient way to collect this information would be for each department to be
responsible for creating the initial inventory of systems equipment,and interfaces with the outside.
The Y2K Team asked that each department create a Y2K Departmental Subcommittee,and requested that the first
task of the Departmental Subcommittees be to conduct the inventory of all systems within their Department.The
Team believed that this was the easiest way to gather and record essential information about each department's
computer system,and systems that may contain embedded chips and established guidelines to help the
Departmental Subcommittees identify those systems.
The Team asked that each department identify everything at their location that may be affected.They agreed that
each department should inventory all lights,temperature controls,and other building control systems,as well as all
computer hardware and all software.The responsibility for double checking the accuracy of the inventory of
building systems will then fall on the Department of Public Works.The MIS department will be responsible for
double checking the accuracy all computer hardware and all software.
The Departmental Subcommittees were provided with an inventory template to ensure uniformity of data.The
instructions stated that if there is any question about whether a system could contain or manipulate dates that it
should be included in the initial inventory The inventory includes such information as manufacturer name,model,
serial number,version number,location,status,and comments.
To facilitate the task of completing the inventory,the Team sent out an awareness letter to all Town employees
with their January 8, 1999 paychecks,to all School employees with their January 15, 1999 paychecks,and a letter
to department heads. These letters were designed to build an awareness of the issue within the Town Departments,
and to explain the importance of being fully prepared.
Develonine a Vendor/Service Provider Contact Program
The Town will obtain vendor or manufacturer assurance of Y2K compliance for all systems.Vendor information is
available from a number of sources.Vendor sales personnel will provide data on the compliance of their products
and services.This information is invaluable for developing a part of the compliance strategy
If a vendor refuses to or cannot issue any assurance,the system should be suspected to fail and a test and/or
replacement plan will be developed.A vendor assurance can come in different forms although it is advisable to
obtain a written assurance of Y2K compliance for all systems.If a vendor publishes Y2K information on a Web
site,that information should be printed,dated,its source noted,and checked periodically for updated information.
The Town will attempt to identify and document the basis on which each vendor has assured compliance,for
example,the specific Y2K tests performed on each system.All communications will be retained and the inventory
updated in such a way to facilitate easy access to the Y2K status and plan for each system.
In some cases,compliance can be determined by physically examining or testing a given entity However,care
must be taken when performing year 2000 simulated tests. Simulating the Year 2000 and performing a test can
cause unintended side effects.Contingency plans must be in place before testing of critical systems. Systems may
freeze or fail-some permanently It ids critical to follow the instructions for the particular item,and check with the
vendor when instructions are unclear
Town of Lexington Year 2000 Town Meeting Report 4
April 7, 1999
Lexington will obtain several benefits by contacting vendors about the Year 2000 compliance of their products.
• First,the vendor may actually know the true status of its product,and tell us whether we are safe or
whether we will need a replacement or upgrade.For a service vendor,the vendor may assure us that all of
its systems are or will be compliant and that services will remain uninterrupted.
• Second,if a vendor cannot guarantee the compliance of its product or systems,or fails to instill confidence,
we can take further steps.For products,test them for compliance(but see the warning above).For services,
identify alternate sources.
• Third, if the vendor cannot guarantee compliance or it is impossible to test a product,we can develop
contingency plans in case the product fails in 2000 or the vendor fails to provide services.Lastly,creating a
paper trail of vendor contacts will be useful if the Town decides to take legal action against a vendor
Protocols need to be established for the following:
• Basic operating procedures will need to be developed.These procedures include when letters will be sent,
how telephone follow-up will be handled,and when lawyer involvement is required.
• Development of supporting materials,such as form letters and survey questions.
• Development of contact lists and tracking mechanisms.The list should contain contact names and
addresses,an activity log, status fields,follow-up requirements and compliance information gathered from
the contacts.
• Determination of how to interpret vendor information and assess any communicated risks.
Although initial vendor contact and tracking may be handled through clerical support,each department will have to
invest resources in this program in order to make it successful.Key responsibilities include:
• Assign person(s)to support this effort-Key tasks involve providing lists of vendors to contact and
following up with vendor issues as they are identified.
• Build and refine a contact list-Each department must create its own list of vendors to contact.Remove
inappropriate contacts from the list.
• Evaluate risks-As mformation is gathered for each critical vendor,each department must evaluate the
risks to their own operations.To allow equal comparisons between vendors,use a standard,objective
approach to rank risk,focusing on how the failure of the vendor's product or services would impact
Lexington's operations.
• Determine actions Once we have identified the most critical,risky vendors,rank them according to their
risk level and assign follow-up efforts if additional pressure needs to be exerted on a vendor
Town of Lexington Year 2000 Town Meeting Report 5
April 7, 1999
3. Assessing the Situation
After all systems are inventoried,they then need to be reviewed and ranked according to how critical the system is
to the Town.The Team established the following guidelines for reviewing the inventory
Y2K RISK ASSESSMENT RATING
Priority 1 —Mission Critical
A system or piece of equipment which, if it failed or malfunctioned,would endanger public health or safety and
could result in death,injury,severe financial loss,or legal liability to the Town. Working around this system is
impossible or impracticable. Examples defibrillators,911 dispatch,delivery of drinking water,handing of
wastewater,public safety lock-up cameras,and financial systems.
Priority 2—Critical and Essential
A business system that is essential to Town operation. Working around the system is very cumbersome and
unlikely to be sustainable for more than a short period. Failure would have an impact on a particular town
operation and would likely cause major problems within that operation. The failure or malfunction could have an
impact on public safety,but would not necessarily cause immediate danger Examples. programmable thermostats,
telephone systems,criminal records systems,pagers and traffic control systems.
Priority 3—Important
A business function that is important to the operation. Working around this system is very cumbersome and
unlikely to be sustainable for more than a short period. Failure would result in widespread or concentrated
interruptions in the city's operations and could be overcome be"work arounds"pending the repair of the system.
Incremental costs would result and restoration costs could be scheduled over time. Examples. street lighting,
security systems.
Priority 4—Inconvenient
A business function that is desired and needed,but not critical. Failure of these systems could result in
inconveniences to the user,or department,but are not important to an established project and could be overcome by
"work arounds"or possible inaction for a period of time. Examples. copiers,fax machines(if not needed for legal
documents),still and video cameras,credit cards.
Priority 5—Morainal
Those devices that are not important to the department and their failure would result only in minor inconveniences.
Examples. automatic coffee pots,microwaves and refrigerators(with exception of COA and Town Hall and school
nursing equipment)and VCR's.
Different methods for assessment are used depending on the ranking of how critical the system is to the Town.The
departments are responsible for conducting the initial assessment that will be reviewed by the Y2K Team.
New Systems
Special consideration of new systems must be made to ensure that vendor assurances of compliance will be
obtained with all new procurements.
Town of Lexington Year 2000 Town Meeting Report 6
April 7, 1999
4.Fixing and Testing for Compliance,Conversion and Replacement
The Project Manager will assemble a master schedule and monitor the progress of Y2K test and remediation plans.
Periodic reports will be made to the Senior Management Team and will note the status of plans in relation to their
schedules for completion.The Team and the department responsible for each cntical system will develop a test
plan.The test plan will outline the method and schedule for testing for Y2K compliance.Potential hazards of
testing must be considered and adopted as part of the test plan.
Testing and Remediation
Two sub-teams handle testing and remediation.The IT Testing and Embedded Systems teams.Both teams will use
the inventory as the basis of their project plan.
IT Testing will identify,through the inventory,all hardware and software supported by the MIS Department.The
following steps will be taken to identify,test and remediate:
• Hardware will be tested and the equipment not in compliance will be upgraded,retired or replaced.
• Operating systems will be tested,and systems not in compliance will be upgraded,retired,or replaced.
• Software that is supported by the MIS Department will be tested,and the software not in compliance will
be upgraded,retired,or replaced.
The IT Testing Team expects that:
• All hardware will be tested and be made compliant by April 11, 1999
• All operating systems will be tested and be made compliant by June 30, 1999
• All software will be tested and be made compliant by September 30, 1999
The Embedded Systems Committee will identify through the inventory,systems that could have embedded chip
date sensitive logic difficulties.The following steps will be taken.
• Once identified,the Y2k Committee and the department responsible for the system will evaluate the level
of risk associated with each system. All systems that are identified as Mission Critical and Critical will be
tested.
• A testing schedule will be developed,and written documentation from the testing source that detail the
exact testing procedures will be requested.
• Systems that have been identified by the vendor as having components that are non-compliant will be
remediated before testing.Remediation will be achieved by replacement,retirement,or modification.
• All warranties and maintenance agreements will be evaluated prior to the testing of any system.
• A contingency plan for each system to be tested must be in place prior to any testing of the system.
The Embedded Systems Team expects that:
• All systems will be identified by April 14, 1999
• Assessment and identification of systems to be tested will be finished by April 28, 1999
• All remediation and testing of systems will be achieved by September 30, 1999
Town of Lexington Year 2000 Town Meeting Report 7
April 7, 1999
5.Contingency Planning,Validation and Deployment
The department responsible for each critical system will develop a contingency plan.The contingency plan for each
system should include actions by individuals in the case of system failure.Cost estimates should be included in the
contingency plan.
To meet the challenge of the Year 2000,the Y2K Team decided that each department must develop a contingency
plan. Since there are many unknown factors associated with the Year 2000,all resources(hardware,software,
suppliers,equipment,materials,personnel,and utilities)must be evaluated.Essentially,the question for each
department to answer is. "What do I do if fails?What would we do and how?Do we need to have more
than one backup?"For example,we need to know how a department would respond if it did not have electricity,or
motor fuel, or telephones,or radios?The key is to establish a backup plan, and establish how many backup plans
would be needed.The Y2K Team adopted the Federal guideline that established June 30, 1999 as an appropriate
target date for establishing contingency plans.
Conclusion
The Town of Lexington takes the threat of the Year 2000 computer problem seriously We believe,however,that
diligent preparation can significantly reduce adverse impacts on the Town and its citizens.
Because the problem is ever evolving,with more information about Y2K risks and readiness becoming available
every day,the Team views Lexington's Year 2000 Plan as a dynamic document. The Team will continue to update
the Plan as we discover additional information regarding system compliance status,test results,embedded chip
products,readiness of suppliers and external parties,"best practices"and other important information.
Furthermore,although we are taking significant measures to identify and address potential Year 2000 problems,it
should be recognized that the Town cannot guarantee that every potential issue will be resolved,particularly with
respect to systems outside its ownership and control.
The development of Lexington's Year 2000 Plan,and efforts to date to implement the Plan,have required
considerable focus and commitment of all Town departments. The Lexington Y2K Team is dedicated to assuring
that this commitment continues throughout 1999
1
Town of Lexington Year 2000 Town Meeting Report i
April 7, 1999
Appendix 1 -Y2K Organizational Chart
Senior Management Team_j
i
Susanna Burgett Y2K TEAM
Legal Counsel i comprised of the following: I
0
Karen Simmons,Project Manager Joseph Marino,Econ.Dev. Steve Corr Police Cynthia Johnson,Library I
Steve Ellis,School IT John Moynihan,School Beth Anne Sobieszczyk,TMO Ray Carberry,Citizen I
I Arthur Flavin,Revenue Connie Rawson,MIS Peter Torode,Fire Dept. Victor Rivera,MIS
William Hadley,DPW I
Joseph Marino Bill Hadley Connie Rawson I I Peter Torode
Team Chair Team Chair Team Chair I Team Chair
I Awareness/ Vendor Management Testing 8 Contingency
I Communication Team Team Remediation Team I Planning Team
0
I Ray Carberry j I Art Flavin 1 Vic Rivera l I Connie Rawson I Ray Carberry
▪ Citizen Representative j Finance I Information Tech. Embedded Systems y Citizen and
I I Former Ratheon Risk Mngr.
jSteve Corr I Jim McLaughlin ----- Steve Corr
▪ Police Department Purchasing Matt Allen i Steve Ellis y Police
Town Manager's Office ( i School MIS
I Donna Hooper i I John Moynihan J Inspectional -
1 Bill Cocoran I Steve Frederickson Jim Kilmartin
Town Clerk's Office -{ School Department Services Inspectional Services Police
1 Derek Fullerton I Derek Fullerton
Diane Snell I Engineering EngineeringI Derek Fullerton
- Council on Aging I Engineering
Jon Jalbert I Skip Lovering
Recreation I Tax Collectors i
RL Tsai
Diane McKenzie -i Wayne Medlin Schools
Town Clerk's Office -_..l DPW —.
Linda Crew Vine I Lynne Pease I I John Moynihan
- Town Manager's Office I Board of Selectmen's Office I I School Facilities
Jonathan Rose I
MIS
Lisa Ruffy
Inspectional Services