Worried about getting trapped in an elevator on Jan. 1, 2000? Don't be, a new survey concludes. Less than five percent of the nation's buildings will be affected by Y2K-related glitches.
According to the survey, co-sponsored by the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), real estate professionals have been busy preparing to combat the Y2K bug. Between one and five percent of buildings and facility systems survyed are susceptible to Y2K complications, BOMA reported. But, the majority will be Y2K compliant by January 1, 2000, the survey said.
The survey results correspond with federal buildings' Y2K readiness, John A. Koskinen, Chair of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, said. GSA statistics reveal that three percent of federal buildings may be vulnerable to Y2K computer problems.
"It is encouraging to see that relatively few building systems are affected by the Y2K problem, and that mirrors what we have found in federal buildings," Koskinen said. Still, he warned, much work remains to be done before buildings' critical systems are compliant.
Y2K mania fostered fears that buildings' elevators would get stuck, doors would fly open, and thermostats would stop working at midnight, Jan. 1, 2000, a GSA spokesman said, but the survey reassures those who were scared.
Survey respondents named security systems, telecommunications equipment and energy management controls as top priorities for Y2K readiness. Two-thirds of organizations surveyed reported being 75 to 100 percent finished with identifying vulnerable systems. Sixty-five percent of respondents are half-way done with fixing potential Y2K problems, and a little more than fifty percent report that half of their repaired systems have been tested, the survey found.
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