firms fight Millennium Bug

The computer bug is causing confusion around the country. Iain Copping, the Forum's Director, is determined to help local companies get to grips with the problems it could cause.

The bug is a glitch which could affect a wide range of technology as computer clocks tick past New Year into the year 2000.

But Mr Copping pledges: "Helping Keighley businesses learn how to cope with the bug is a major objective for the Forum. We have begun seminars with local businesses and have already had one major seminar.

"After September we are planning a series of workshops which will help to prepare companies and work out the best solutions for them on how to deal with the bug."

So far the response has been excellent for the Forum, with a number of local banks encouraging their businesses customers to attend the seminars.

The most recent seminar was run by Click-On Computers, which is based in Mantra House, Keighley. Johnathan Rutter, who attended the seminar on behalf of Midland Bank, says: "I would say that what we were told was a great help to the many small businesses of Keighley.

"Also, the literature which was handed out at the end of the seminar was very useful.

"Here at Midland Bank we are encouraging all our business customers to seek advice and help in terms of what they should be doing to combat problems which they may experience due to the Millennium Bug. This is something which Midland Bank is taking very seriously."

Keighley MP Ann Cryer is also urging businesses to set up contingency plans in case their computer systems fail. Working with Taskforce 2000, which was set up by the Government to help deal with the Year 2000 problem, she is helping to provide self-assessment questionnaires for local companies.

Keighley Business Forum will step up its campaign this month with the appointment of Elaine Pearson, currently a branch manager for a high-street bank.

She will help to co-ordinate a campaign to bring awareness of the bug to local businesses and to try and help solve those problems which may have already begun to arise.

David Wilson, Information Technology manager at Keighley College, explains that the basic problem of the bug is that computers which use a two-digit system of counting (for example, '98' instead of '1998') are unable to recognise the date change when we reach the year 2000. Instead they will record the '00' date as 1900.

Mr Wilson says: "Practically, this has already begun to cause problems. For example some credit cards which carry expiry dates past the year 2000 have been affected.

"It is possible that the Millennium Bug will affect any electric appliance which has a computer chip to record the date. The most obvious example of this are video recorders. But it has to be said that over the last few years manufacturers have been striving to make sure their products are Year 2000 compliant.

His advice to any businesses is: "Contact your suppliers and ensure that they are taking steps towards ensuring a smooth transition into the new millennium.

"Likewise, anybody with a PC should contact the manufacturer and see if both their software and PCs are Year 2000 compliant."

Mohammad Rafiq, Manager/Owner of Zentek Computers on Low Street, says the biggest impact the bug will have for businesses will be on invoice and payroll systems.

He says "For most people at home with PCs there won't be a real problem. Over the last few years all PCs have been equipped to deal with the changeover.

"It is the big businesses who are still using the old systems which they have had for years who will experience the biggest problems. But most companies have a lot of people and are spending a lot of money working on the problem because they've known about it for a long time."

Anyone interested in attending the seminars run by Keighley Business Forum, or wanting more information, should call Lesley Ord at the forum on 01535 671870.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.