Year 2000 Contingency Planning Report

BACKGROUND: The Year 2000 problem is really quite simple. By using two digits to represent the year, any date processing will be confused by "00". It will lead either to a complete shutdown or errors in processing. The problem is not limited to computer software and hardware. All electronic equipment such as fax machines, elevators and machine tools will be impacted.

RISK: Our Year 2000 Repair Plan is almost complete and we anticipate beginning work on the necessary fixes shortly. The recent report by the consulting firm of Era and Epoch indicated that there is a strong possibility we will not be fully operational by the Year 2000. The reasons for their conclusion are not a subject of this report. As directed by the Executive Committee, this paper is a draft contingency plan and will provide the basis of discussion and more detailed work.

INTERDEPENDENCIES: It is important to note that the corporation has strong interdependent relations with financial institutions, utilities (such as electricity and water) and suppliers that directly impact our core business. Failure of any one or multiple third parties will have a devastating impact on our ability to deliver our goods and services to our clients.

CATASTROPHIC FAILURE: Due to our numerous, external relationships and complex internal structure, there were too many possible scenarios to generate a coherent draft to be used as the basis of discussion. Therefore, in the interest of simplification, this contingency plan will be based upon a worldwide catastrophic failure due to the Year 2000. Our research indicates that such a catastrophe would lead to a worldwide depression, war and a significant technological inversion (commonly known as a Dark Age).

ASSUMPTION: Humanity is twenty-four hours and two missed meals away from barbarism.

PLAN OUTLINE: We will not be able to operate effectively in a climate of economic ruin and technological inversion. Therefore, our plan is to ensure that the means to restore a proper business climate are put into place.

1. With the advent of barbarism, it is anticipated that much knowledge required for the business climate will be lost. Therefore, essential documents such as encyclopedia's, dictionaries, mathematics texts and the corporation's annual plan need to be produced on acid free paper. Our Team acknowledges that there are initial, up-front costs associated with acid free paper but due to the expected shortage of paper after the event, longevity was an important consideration (see Appendix A).
2. A facility will be required to store the documentation. The corporation owns several, relatively isolated facilities that can be converted for this purpose (see Appendix B). The proposed sites have an adequate supply of fresh water and fertile land for producing foodstuffs. Living quarters will also have to be constructed as it is expected that most, existing living areas will be ravaged.
3. This brings up the important issue of defense. Adequate defense features such as walls, moats and gates will be required to protect the stored documents. Barbarism, by definition, has associated violent tendencies. Projected costs are not as high as the initial assessment when the breakdown of modern weapons is factored into the estimates. The various defensive features are listed in Appendix C with the estimated costs associated with each option.
4. The selection of personnel to relocate to the facility is crucial (referred to as the Facility Team). Employees that meet their objective for the first quarter of 1999 should be invited to relocate. We are still awaiting a decision from Human Resources if employment equity policies apply in this instance. Understandably, this will impact on personnel selection.
5. There will be significant training costs (Appendix D) to prepare the Facility Team. In particular, Human Resources determined we are weak on agricultural and military skills. Human Resources has drafted a six month training program that should meet our requirements. To reduce costs, training can be reduced or eliminated.
6. Unfortunately there are no accurate forecasting modules to indicate how long it will take for barbarism to subside. That is why the Facility Team must be self-sufficient and be prepared for a multi-generational duration of the project. Logically, employees must agree that their descendants will become employees of the corporation. Costs of such a lengthy project cannot be estimated since the current economic infrastructure will no longer exist.
7. The primary mission of the Facility Team will be to protect the stored documents and, depending on the length of the project, reproduce them as the paper decays. Our Engineering Department has provided estimates (Appendix E) on the breakdown on the documents and the length of time to make copies. Please note, copying will be a manual process since photocopying and related technology will no longer be functioning.
8. When humanity begins to restore civilization, our facility can play a key role by re-inputing the stored knowledge into the stream of common knowledge. The objectives are to accelerate the return of civilization, ensure technological advancement will meet our requirements and most importantly, the restoration of the business climate that requires our corporation's goods and services.
9. With the restoration of the business climate, the Corporate Disaster Recovery Plan will be activated to rebuild the corporation itself. Business as usual will resume.

CONCLUSION: We have contacted the Catholic Church since they have some experience in this area in the hopes of establishing a strategic alliance and leveraging their knowledge. To date our overtures have been unsuccessful.

We recommend that the Executive Committee endorse the contingency plan. The plan outlined in this report will ensure that the corporation will recover from any Year 2000 related disaster. Detailed planning can begin immediately. We would also like authorization to meet with the Management Cryogenic Program Team to coordinate our efforts.