http://chicagotribune.com/business/businessnews/ws/item/0,1308,9693-9678-29377,00.html

Relevant excerpt:

...In a recent seminar on Y2K preparedness procedures held by the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago, Casties told an overflow crowd about one incident in which a group managed to lock themselves inside a Chicago bank while they were running a systems check.

The group was testing an integrated bundle of four systems -- card access, door lock, alarm and video surveillance. All had been certified Y2K-ready, but it turned out that two different Y2K compliance software packages had been used to update them, and those two systems weren't compatible.

"When they rolled the clock (ahead to 2000) on the integrated systems, all of them failed and all the doors locked up. They had to open them manually and they had done a backup plan for that. But they were so surprised when it failed," she said.

In another case, building managers installed a new fire-safety system and disconnected the link to the external alarm monitoring company to run their Y2K test. But they didn't realize there was still an old computer tie-in to the lighting and air systems that linked up to the monitoring station.

"It was a disaster," said Casties. "The alarms went off to the fire department."

Casties added that she was told by a vendor that in a different building the test crew group decided to be extra thorough and check dates past the year 2030. What they didn't realize was that they went past the termination date of the software license.

"The whole system failed, and they couldn't get it back up and running," she said...

-- regular (zzz@z.z), June 14, 1999

Answers

Another article about an office building glitch is on this old thread:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000Mce

"Computer Date Glitch Locks Workers Out"

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), June 14, 1999.

Yep - but it's only a "bump in the road." Don't worry, be happy, the pollies aren't noticing these symptoms.

These are typical integrated systems software test errors. If people aren't finding them now, they aren't testing properly. Note: they may not publicize them now, but they must find them now, or they aren't testing thoroughly.

If not found now under controlle dconditions, that is, they'll find them later, when properly and thoroughly testing the systems in Jan-Feb-Mar 2000. And again in Dec-Jan_Feb 2001.

But the administration says "only a bump in the road".

_____

Similar subject (building security) - if the power goes out, or an alarm conditions occurs, the fire codes require that all electronically controlled doors be able to allow exits "out" - many buildings (such as the government buildings and parking garages in Atlanta are secured against outside (criminal) entrance by automated electronic locks to the street level. I wonder how safe the government workers will feel without working locks on those doors.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), June 14, 1999.