All Around Campus, Y2K Preparations Under Way

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November 18, 1999

SEARCH THE GAZETTE

HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

By Alvin Powell
Gazette Staff

Dec. 31 may be New Year’s Eve, but it’s a workday this year for many people across Harvard.

All thanks to a little computer bug.

Final preparations are under way to greet the new year and the Y2K bug, from the Medical School to the Arboretum to the Loeb Drama Center.

Preparations range from calling a caterer to feed those working that night to outfitting Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ laboratory freezers with carbon dioxide backup units that will keep critical experiments and materials cold.

Officials from Harvard’s schools, departments, and Central Administration have been crafting plans for nearly two years to combat the Year 2000 bug, a computer software glitch that, left unfixed, could make some computers believe it is 1900 instead of 2000.

Those working on the problem at Harvard are confident the new year will arrive uneventfully. That sentiment is echoed nationally: a Nov. 10 report by the Clinton administration said it expects critical functions, such as power grids, financial systems, and telephone networks, to remain operational, but it’s not expecting a problem-free transition.

If not repaired, the Year 2000 bug’s effects could range from the innocuous, such as a videocassette recorder thinking it’s the wrong day of the week, to the serious, such as equipment shutdowns, power outages, and failures in financial computer systems.

What’s Happening Where
The Medical School, with 1,000 laboratories, many containing critical experiments, is taking steps to make sure the work performed in the labs isn’t lost, according to Jane Garfield, the Medical School’s director of campus operations. Garfield said remediation of the Medical and Dental schools’ own systems is complete, but preparations are under way in case of widespread interruptions of critical services, such as power and water.

Garfield said trucks of dry ice will be standing by to cool freezers containing laboratory specimens if the power goes out. Likewise, a tanker truck of diesel fuel will also be standing by to provide fuel for the Longwood Campus generators, which will supply emergency lights and power to critical parts of the Medical, Dental and Public Health schools. Garfield said many people from different departments will be working that night, monitoring labs, equipment, and other facilities, and the Longwood Campus is planning on serving dinner.

"We have attempted to prepare for everything," Garfield said. We’re going to walk through the buildings in teams. Each department will have a department representative on site and every department has prepared its own department-specific emergency preparedness contingency plan. We just want to be self-reliant."

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is taking similar care with its laboratory material, according to Michael Lichten, director of the Office of Physical Resources in the FAS.

Lichten said that critical laboratory freezers are being outfitted with backup systems that use carbon dioxide or nitrogen to keep the freezers cool in the event of a power loss. The canisters, which can be replaced, will keep an individual freezer cool for about six hours.

At the Biological Laboratories, more extensive preparations are being made. Large generators on two flatbed trucks will be positioned outside the Labs and connected to a temporary wiring system that will keep heat and lights functional in critical portions of the building.

The flatbed generators are required at the Biological Labs because the building’s own generator was designed to support just life safety functions, such as powering exit lights, Lichten said. Newer buildings, such as William James Hall, have newer and larger generators that can provide needed power should an outage occur.

Museums, Theaters, The Great Outdoors
Though elaborate preparations are under way for some critical operations, other units have plans scaled down to what’s appropriate for their facility.

The Fogg Art Museum and the Arnold Arboretum’s preparations are similar to those that would be taken for any general power outage caused by a severe winter storm or a hurricane.

At the Fogg, security guards will be on duty on New Year’s Eve, just as they are every other night of the year. Should the power and heat go off, they’ll close down air exchangers to try to keep the heat in the building as long as possible, according to James Moisson, administrator for operations in the University Art Museums.

"If the whole energy infrastructure about us goes, there’s not a whole lot we can do," Moisson said. "The best thing you can do is to cause a building to coast – tighten it up and ride out the problem."

While Museum officials would prefer constant temperature and a steady humidity level, a few days without power shouldn’t adversely affect any of the Museums’ holdings, Moisson said.

"Most objects have some ability to withstand fluctuations, particularly the older ones. They’ve been fluctuating for hundreds of years," Moisson said.

At the Arboretum, New Year’s comes during the winter’s dormant period for most trees. New plantings in Arboretum greenhouses – which would need warmer temperatures and regular watering – will still be weeks away.

Andrew Hubble, the Arboretum’s network systems manager, said the visitor center will be closed from Dec. 24 through Jan. 2, while the Arboretum grounds will remain open. During the same period, all computers except the Arboretum Web server will be shut down. The Arboretum will have a backup generator in place to keep pipes from freezing if power is unavailable.

"Because it’s a quiet time and the living collections are dormant, we do not foresee major problems," Hubble said.

At the Loeb Drama Center, workers plan to print out lists of ticket holders for the weekend’s shows before New Year’s Eve. That way any problems with the computerized ticketing system won’t affect the performances, according to Jonathan Miller, general manager of the American Repertory Theatre.

Not only is the Loeb planning to operate on New Year’s weekend, Miller said, but they’re presenting a show on New Year’s Eve, as they do every year. Backup systems are ready to handle the lights and sound, should those computer systems experience problems, he said. But a broader power failure would force them to stop the show.

"As long as there is electrical power in the building, we have the rest," Miller said. "We’re a place where human beings meet. This whole Y2K bug thing is about machinery. Nothing about the change of the clock to 2000 is going to change the talent of the actors from Friday evening to Saturday morning. And it’s not going to rewrite the text of the play."

SIDEBAR

The University is setting up a Y2K Information Line, (617) 384-2000, that, from Dec. 1 to Dec. 23, will be answered by University Help Desk personnel, who will answer questions about the University’s Y2K planning and refer calls to the schools and departments for more specific questions.

After Dec. 23, when University operations slow for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, the number will be answered by a series of recorded announcements concerning Y2K planning.