ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: October 12, 1999
Author/Local: PMarfleet/7701
RTS No. 01058

CC File No. 1193

Council: November 2, 1999

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Director, Risk and Emergency Management (Y2K Project Manager)
SUBJECT:	Year 2000 Program Status Report

INFORMATION

The Director of Risk and Emergency Management submits this report for INFORMATION.

CITY MANAGER’S COMMENTS

The City Manager notes that this is the final status report on the City’s Year 2000 program prior to the New Year’s transition. The City’s Y2K program has been completed on schedule and has included remediation work by all City Departments and related organizations, a pro-active public communications program, continuous external liaison, and extensive contingency planning. As a result of the work that has been done, staff collectively have a high level of confidence that City services will continue to be reliable through the millennium transition and believe that the City is well-positioned to enter the twenty-first century.

COUNCIL POLICY

In February 1998 Council authorized a City program and funding to deal with Year 2000 issues. In September 1998 Council authorized an expanded work program which included a Year 2000 Policy, Terms of Reference, and a detailed Work Program.

PURPOSE

This is the fourth status report since the Y2K project office was established, fourteen months ago. As remediation work is virtually complete, the purpose of this report is to sum up the work of the program and outline plans for the New Year’s transition.

INTRODUCTION

The City’s Year 2000 program has progressed on schedule. As a result, with the exception of some low priority items which are in the process of being addressed, the City’s systems, facilities, and equipment are ‘Y2K ready’. The final high priority transition will be the transfer of Police and Fire to the new “Y2K compliant” computer aided dispatch system within E-Comm. This transition occurs in November.

The nature of the Y2K issue and the interdependencies among agencies make it difficult to predict the effects of Y2K with absolute certainty. However, as a result of the work undertaken, City staff collectively have a high degree of confidence in the reliability of City services through the year 2000 transition. No significant disruptions to City services are anticipated.

The City’s Y2K program is comprehensive. It includes a number of parallel initiatives: remediation and testing; extensive external liaison; regular public communications through a Y2K website, Y2K Guide, and monthly community forums; contingency planning; emergency operations centre activation; and a communications initiative for the transition weekend.

DISCUSSION

Remediation and Testing

As part of its remediation process the City’s Year 2000 Task Force developed a complete inventory of computer hardware and software, building systems, telephone and office equipment, vehicles, systems with embedded systems, and non-city systems which are integral to city operations. These were prioritized for detailed analysis. Systems which have life-safety or significant financial consequences were given high priority. These were analysed and those with potential Y2K issues were identified and remediated - either through modification, upgrade, or replacement. Testing was done to ensure functionality. Suppliers or owners of non-City systems which the City relies on were contacted to assure continued reliability.

The new Computer Aided Dispatch system owned by E-Comm will replace the old non-compliant Police and Fire Dispatch system. The new system has been tested and certified as Y2K compliant and training is underway. The transition will be complete by the end of November.

What was found

Information Technology staff inventoried 430 potentially vulnerable items which included computer hardware, communications equipment, software, and applications. Overall they found that 62% of inventoried items had Y2K issues.

About 60% of the computers in use in the City will need some help to establish the correct date after the transition and information is documented on the City’s year 2000 web page with respect to what to do with each model. From the hundreds of different software packages and versions in use in City Departments, it was determined that most could handle twenty-first century dates. A few had minor date issues which were addressed by installing vendor supplied patches, upgrading to new versions or not using the affected features.

All of the mainframe computer hardware components were inventoried and 100% were certified as compliant by the manufacturer. With respect to software, of the 40 different mainframe computer software products, 18 were retired through SAP implementation, 15 were upgraded to address Y2K issues, and the remainder were determined to be compliant. Sixty percent of network and communications hardware and software items required remediation.

With respect to the 54 applications supported by Information Technology, all had Y2K issues and were either replaced, modified or upgraded.

Building Management staff reviewed 320 city-owned and leased buildings to identify Y2K issues. The review included building systems like boilers, intrusion and fire alarms, building access systems, elevators and escalators, lighting systems etc. Sixty date-dependent systems were identified, of which seven were ultimately found to be non-compliant and were remediated.

The Park Board inventoried 98 potentially-vulnerable systems. Ultimately 10 were found to have Y2K issues and included systems like the gate opening systems at the Heather and Burrard Marinas, the street tree inventory system, the parking metre credit card handling system, and one type of security alarm panel. All high and medium priority systems have been remediated; the remaining low priority systems will be addressed by December.

Engineering reviewed twenty-two embedded systems (which included 246 potentially vulnerable components). Ultimately 6 systems were found to be non-compliant. These included the traffic signal management system, the SCADA (flow monitoring system) for the Dedicated Fire Protection system, vehicle fuelling system, manual and automatic traffic count systems, and the parking meter service record system. All have been remediated.

In addition Engineering reviewed 100 engineering-related software systems, of which 36 were ultimately found to have Y2K issues. These have all been addressed.

Police and Fire Y2K issues have been largely addressed through the move to the new E-Comm radio and computer aided dispatch systems. In addition the Firehalls have very few automated systems. The Police Department inventoried 780 non-compliant personal computers. These are being addressed through software patches. High priority items are complete. Another 78 non-compliant items were identified. These included printers, mobile display terminals, breathalysers, radar, software packages, hubs, routers, and modems. Of these all high priority items have been addressed.

Civic Theatres identified twelve items critical to their operation and all twelve have been addressed. The Art Gallery and Museums found nothing that would impact public service at their operations, but have addressed software and computer issues.

External Liaison: The Year 2000 Roundtable

In November, 1998 the City initiated the British Columbia Year 2000 Roundtable. The Roundtable is chaired by Vancouver’s City Manager and has broad representation. It includes: Action 2000 (the Provincial Government Y2K project), BC Ambulance, BC Ferries, BC Gas, BC Hydro, BC Rail, BC TEL, Canadian Coast Guard, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, Langley City and Township, New Westminster, North Vancouver City and District, Port Coquitlam, Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver, White Rock, West Vancouver, GVRD, TransLink, Ministry of Municipal Affairs, North East Sector Emergency Program, Provincial Emergency Program, VanCity, Vancouver Hospital & Health Sciences, Vancouver Airport, Vancouver Port, Vancouver/Richmond Health Board, ICBC, and Vancouver School Board. The Roundtable has met regularly to collaborate on Y2K issues and to report on each others’ progress.

Roundtable agencies together have developed a joint website, a Year 2000 Guide, and have partnered in Y2K Community Forums and Y2K emergency exercises. The Roundtable agencies have agreed to collaborate on a joint communications strategy for the New Year’s weekend, which is described later in this report.

Contingency Planning

All City departments and related boards have contributed to the development of comprehensive contingency plans for Y2K. The plans include coordinated security at City facilities, pre-positioning of critical equipment and resources, increased police and fire resources, standby teams from Information Technology, and other measures to assure a safe New Year’s transition and uninterrupted City services. The development of this plan represents a significant amount of work by City staff to ensure a coordinated approach to continency planning.

Emergency Operations Centre Activation

While the City does not anticipate that the year 2000 transition will trigger emergency conditions, the City’s new Emergency Operations Centre will be activated on December 30th, 1999 and will remain activated through the rollover. Beginning at noon on December 30th, there will be skeletal (level 1) staffing at the Centre to begin monitoring the Year 2000 transition in Australia and New Zealand. This is a minimal staffing level and will involve about three staff at the centre. At 10:00 a.m. on the 31st staffing levels will increase to level 2, partial operational levels. At this time the centre will be staffed by about 20 staff working six hour shifts throughout the transition. Staffing will be escalated to full operations (level 3 staffing) only if events warrant it.

The technology at the E-Comm centre will permit staff to track media reports worldwide, as well as to track several Internet sites which will be monitoring and reporting Y2K events. The Centre will be linked to the Provincial Emergency Centre in Victoria as well as the Federal Emergency Centre in Ottawa. Staff will monitor local events through police, fire and engineering radio traffic as well as through reports from E-Comm’s regional 9-1-1 centre.
The Regional Emergency Coordination Centre adjacent to the City’s Emergency Operations Centre in E-Comm will be activated over the transition period. As a result, hospitals, utilities, railways, municipalities, and emergency services will all be sharing information from their own organizations’ emergency operations centres. In this way the City will have access to first-hand information about any problems being experienced by these agencies. The Provincial Emergency Program will establish a base of operations in the E-Comm building for the New Years’ transition and will be connecting to organizations throughout the Province, as well as to Emergency Preparedness Canada. The Provincial Government will utilize the E-Comm centre for the Province’s Y2K communications during the transition.

A briefing will be provided at approximately 10:00 a.m. on the 31st and again at approximately 9:00 p.m. on the 31st, just after Canada’s east coast makes the Y2K transition. Emergency Management Committee members (who form the Policy component of theEmergency Operations Centre) will be at the centre from 10:00 p.m. on the 31st to 4:00 a.m. on the 1st. Depending on the situation, operations may be discontinued or minimal on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd. However, skeletal (level 1) staffing levels will be re-implemented on the morning of January 4th, to monitor any problems associated with the first working day of the New Year.

To ensure staff are trained and ready to staff the centre an emergency exercise to test the Emergency Operations Centre was conducted on May 19 of this year. A second emergency exercise is scheduled for October 25th.

Staff at the centre will monitor news reports from around the world and locally and stay abreast of Y2K issues that emerge. Should Y2K issues arise in Vancouver, the Emergency Operations Centre will be ready to coordinate the City’s response, based on the best information available and utilizing the latest technology to manage information and communications.
Year 2000 Guide

The Y2K Roundtable has collaborated on a Year 2000 Guide which provides messages from various public service agencies about the status of their Y2K programs and the anticipated reliability of their services. The 24-page guide includes information on public utilities, telecommunications, provincial government services, municipal services, emergency services, 9-1-1, transportation, health, financial institutions, and insurance. It also provides preparedness tips to help individuals and businesses prepare for unexpected disruptions to public services, regardless of whether they are caused by Y2K or by another cause such as a severe storm. The Year 2000 Guide is available under ‘what’s new’ on the City of Vancouver website (www.city.vancouver.bc.ca), on the Y2K Roundtable website (y2k.bc.ca), and in Vancouver Libraries and in Community Centres. It is available in English, Chinese, and Punjabi.

The guide will continue to be distributed as we approach the transition. In total, 72,000 copies of the Guide have been printed for distribution by Roundtable agencies. The City has distributed about 10,000 copies.

Y2K Community Forums

The City of Vancouver , in conjunction with the Provincial Government Action 2000 representatives, has hosted a series of free Y2K Community Forums. These forums are held monthly in communities throughout Vancouver and provide information on the readiness of public services as well as planning information for individuals and businesses. Informationon upcoming forums is under ‘community events’ at y2k.bc.ca or ‘what’s new’ at www.city.vancouver.bc.ca. Community forums will continue through December.

Celebrate Safely

As part of its communications leading to the New Year’s period, the City along with other Roundtable agencies will be communicating a “celebrate safely” message. Led by the Police and reinforced by other public agencies, this message will give the public pertinent information about transit schedules, planned events, street closures etc. and will urge that celebrations be safe. The message will be reinforced through posters, news briefings and radio announcements.

Public Agency Readiness

We are exploring, along with the Action 2000 representatives and other Roundtable members, the idea of doing some positive communications which focus on the preparedness of BC’s public sector agencies. For example, a poster which summarizes the readiness of Y2K Roundtable agencies is being developed by the Provincial Action 2000 group for distribution in November.

New Year’s Media Briefings

The media room in the E-Comm building is ideally suited for media briefings throughout the New Year’s transition and will be utilized for agencies to respond publicly to events which occur around the world as well as to provide briefings from a local perspective. The Roundtable agencies have agreed to collaborate on this initiative. They will collectively monitor information during the transition and access ‘industry experts’ from their organizations who can comment on events worldwide and assess the likelihood of local impact. In the event there are service disruptions or problems associated with millennium celebrations, this facility will be used to issue warnings and information helpful to the public.

Website Updates

y2k.bc.ca will be updated on an hour-by-hour basis throughout the transition, so that the public can get the latest information on events that have occurred. Staff are also looking at the possibility of including live video footage of the media briefings at E-Comm, on the website.

y2k.bc.ca is the website of the British Columbia Year 2000 Roundtable. This site is designed to provide British Columbians with centralized information about what is being done to assure the continued reliability of public services into the next century. The siteprovides information about year 2000 work programs underway and centralizes Y2K information about municipalities, utilities, emergency services, health, provincial government, federal government, crown corporations, transportation, financial institutions, and business planning.

Y2K Information Line

Staff are exploring the possibility of establishing a Y2K information number for the New Year’s transition. Anyone with general questions relative to the status of public sector organizations could call the information number and obtain information directly or be connected to someone who can provide the information. This initiative is still in the development stages.

Financial Status

The expanded Y2K project has been carried out within the original budget of $649,000 allocated by Council. This budget has been virtually depleted. The budget funded the project office including a half-time temporary position for eighteen months, most of the remediation work, and the publishing costs associated with the Y2K Guide. With the completion of the inventory, remediation work it is recommended that the half-time position be discontinued three months early, at the end of November. This will leave approximately $6000 remaining in the budget, which can be used to fund posters, website updates, and other communications material for the New Year’s transition.

In some cases small remediation measures were funded from existing budgets. Some Y2K issues were addressed by projects which were separately funded and for which Y2K was only a partial rationale. These include SAP, the E-Comm radio and CAD system, and the Engineering traffic signal monitoring system replacement.

The cost of response to the New Year’s transition will depend on whether issues or problems are encountered which trigger an escalation of City resources. This is particularly true of Police, Fire and Engineering resources. The limited Emergency Operations Centre staffing described in this report is being funded through existing budgets.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the City’s Y2K program has proceeded on schedule. All systems which could have an impact on service have been remediated and tested. The final high-priority transfer will occur this month when Police and Fire move to the E-Comm Computer Aided Dispatch system, which has been certified and tested as Y2K compliant. City staff do not anticipate disruptions to City services as a result of Y2K. Contingency planning, in conjunction withY2K exercises, will ensure that City staff are prepared to respond effectively to any Y2K issues which may arise. A public information program will continue, to provide information about the reliability of services and to provide commentary about any events, either internationally or locally, which may arise.

* * * * *

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver