|
|
|
| FHWA and the Year 2000 Computer Problem |
June, 1999
| Purpose |
The purpose of the Business Continuity and Contingency Plan (BCCP) for the Year 2000 (Y2K) is to ensure the continuation of operations of Federal Highway (FHWA) systems over the millennium change and minimize the impact of any adverse situations that may arise.
In the past, when data storage on computers was more expensive, it was standard practice to store only the last two digits of the year. For example, instructions embedded in many existing programs automatically join the century digits, i.e., "19" and the year digits, e.g., "99" together in on-screen displays and printouts. This will cause many systems to treat the year 2000 (stored as "00") as the year 1900 unless appropriate changes are made to these information systems. This means that in systems using only the two digit format, the year 2000 (stored as "00") would be sorted ahead of 1999 (stored as "99") when sorting dates in ascending sequence, unless appropriate modifications to the system are made.
The FHWA has been working for the past 10 years to ensure that all of the Agency's information systems will accommodate four digit dates. For example, in 1989 when the Agency developed the current version of its Fiscal Management Information System (FMIS), which contains data related to all highway projects financed by the Federal Government, it included 4-digit date fields in the database.
Another potential Year 2000 problem lies in operational transportation systems, such as traffic signal systems operated and managed by State and local governments throughout the country. These systems may also have embedded programs in their hardware and/or software that cannot adequately deal with the Year 2000. As an example, data dependent signal timing patterns could be incorrectly implemented at highway intersections if the State or local government's traffic control software does not properly process four digit years or intersections could go to flashing yellow/red.
FHWA has conducted an extensive outreach program with the broader transportation community to minimize any adverse impacts of the Y2K problem on the Nation's highway system.
A team composed of representatives from the Office of Information and Management Services and each office responsible for one of the Agency's mission critical computer systems was convened for the purpose of formulating a Business Continuity and Contingency Plan for the FHWA. The team considered actions taken to date by the Agency to address the potential Y2K problem and evaluated each of the mission critical systems to determine what action(s) would be necessary to maintain a minimal acceptable level of operations.
The contingency plans outlined later in this plan, describe the steps the FHWA would take in the event of a Y2K caused system or systems failure. We have generally assumed that electricity, the phone system/FAX's, and the United States Postal Service mail system are working. The contingency plans developed to date will be continuously evaluated and revised, as necessary, to reflect any changes in the operating environment which may occur between now and December 31, 1999.
This BCCP was developed by the FHWA's Office of Information and Management Systems in coordination with the Office of Transportation Operations which is responsible for emergency preparedness and the Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP).
The FHWA has 5 core business functions:
1) Infrastructure - This unit provides stewardship and management of our national infrastructure programs. This core business unit is responsible for program development,complex project assistance, and development of asset management principles, including life cycle costing. The key functions include: Federal-aid program management and design, asset management techniques, value engineering, innovative contracting, facility maintenance, policy and technical issues, bridge program and technical issues, and pavements.
2) Planning & Environment - The unit is responsible for planning program management and guidance, environmental program guidance, real estate services, and program management, e.g., Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ). The key functions include: intermodal passenger and freight planning, statewide planning, metropolitan planning, environmental services, real estate services, and financial planning/innovative financing activities. This unit also manages several current or emerging programs, such as pedestrian and bicycle, scenic byways, recreational trails, and transportation and community preservation.
3) Motor Carrier & Highway Safety - This core business unit is responsible for major aspects of the motor carrier and highway safety programs. It provides program management for the 402 State and Community Grant Program, hazardous materials, railroad grade crossings, the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP), and the motor carrier safety enforcement program. The key functions of this unit are safety program development and implementation, analysis, motor carrier research and development, standards, and field operations.
4) Operations - This core business unit includes operational responsibilities in the Intelligent Transportation System area, congestion management, incident management, emergency preparedness, traffic management and operations, high occupancy vehicle initiatives, demand management, pricing, intermodal operations, and weather prediction/response/mitigation efforts.
5) Federal Lands Highway Program - This core business unit services transportation for Federal and Indian lands. It is responsible for a rather unique relationship with Federal land agencies, tribal governments, the Department of Defense, and its many and varied interest groups. This unit serves as the FHWA focal point with tribal governments.
In addition to its five core business units described above, the FHWA also has 8 cross-cutting service business units.
1) Policy. The Policy Service Business unit provides direct policy support to the Office of the Administrator and provides Agency leadership, advocacy, and support on emerging policy issues to core and other business units. These responsibilities include coordinating and formulating Agency-wide policy, developing the Agency's Strategic Plan, conducting policy studies, assessing new program directions, developing legislative options, participating on the DOT Policy Council, analyzing emerging policy issues, developingand analyzing policy related information, publishing and disseminating national highway statistics, coordinating with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics on Department-wide data issues, coordinating the Agency's international programs, supporting the FHWA International Coordination Board, and participating in the Department's International Council.
2) Administration. The Administration Service Business Unit is a cross-cutting support organization with centralized responsibilities for human resources management, acquisition, budget, finance, information systems and technology, organization analysis, administrative support services, and publishing and visual communications.
3) Research, Development, and Technology (RD&T). The RD&T unit is a cross-cutting support unit to the core business units with centralized responsibilities for the RD&T program. This centralized responsibility includes advanced, applied, and cross-cutting research and support to the core business units for technology transfer (T2) activities. This RD&T support unit also includes the administration of internal and external nationwide R&T programs as well as coordination with national and international organizations.
4) Professional Development. The cross-cutting Professional Development unit has responsibilities for championing internal and external training and professional development. It sets Agency-wide training and professional development objectives and performance measures, and coordinates among the business units in achieving these objectives and evaluating results. The FHWA's National Highway Institute is part of this unit. The Professional Development unit serves as an "in-house" consultant for training and learning, providing access, assistance, and expertise to all of FHWA, including the core business units, the service business units, and the field offices.
5) Corporate Management. Responsibilities include providing leadership in institutionalizing within FHWA the seven cornerstones of a quality organization, including support functions such as program evaluation, strategic planning, information analysis, business process reengineering, and knowledge sharing.
6) Chief Counsel. Responsibilities include providing legal advice and services regarding all aspects of the FHWA's programs and representing the Agency in legal or administrative proceedings. The Chief Counsel's office also works with State and local government transportation attorneys and other customers to enhance the understanding and application of Federal laws and procedures relating to transportation.
7) Civil Rights. This service business unit promotes civil rights programs to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all persons employed or affected by FHWA and the programs and activities of its recipients, sub-recipients, and contractors.
8) Public Affairs. This unit promotes public understanding of, and support for, the FHWA's programs, policies, and strategies.
Status of FHWA's Y2K Activities
Implementation of Y2K Compliant Systems
After extensive planning and work, on March 27-28, 1999, the FHWA successfully migrated all of its Agencywide mainframe-based information systems (both mission critical and non-mission critical) hosted on the Department's Transportation Administrative Service Center (TASC) Computer Center (TCC) mainframe to: (1) the Y2K compliant versions of the Agency's applications software previously developed and tested by the FHWA; (2) the new Y2K compliant mainframe operating system (OS/390), and (3) the new Y2K compliant version of the Computer Associates Integrated Database Management System (CA-IDMS) software (release 14.0). All other third party software packages used for FHWA systems was also migrated to a Y2K compliant version in this new, completely Y2K compliant environment on the mainframe.
All of the FHWA's processing at the TCC is running under Y2K compliant software as of March 29, 1999, and all FHWA mainframe applications have been fully renovated and validated, and are currently Y2K compliant.
FHWA's mission critical information systems were Y2K compliant by OMB's March 31, 1999, deadline.
End-to-End Test Plan
On March 12, 1999, the FHWA's "End-to-End Test Plan" was transmitted to the Deputy Secretary. The FHWA has identified the State DOTs of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa as willing to conduct "end-to-end tests." The FHWA systems to be tested are the Financial Management Information System (FMIS), The Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) and the Federal-Aid Payments System (PR-20). The FHWA is currently working with these States to plan and conduct these tests.
Y2K Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V)
An Independent Validation and Verification (IV&V) of the Agency's Y2K compliance is currently being conducted by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). SAIC personnel have completed their preliminary analysis and planning and have worked on-site on their independent assessment of the FHWA's overall Y2K program, which includes running more than 3 million lines of FHWA's code through SAIC's Y2K evaluator tool to ensure Y2K compliance. The reports from SAIC indicate that FHWA's code is much better than average and is in very good shape for Y2K.
(By OMB Phase(2) with % Completed)
| Mission Critical System | Awareness (12/31/1996) |
Assessment (08/31/1997) |
Renovation (09/30/1998) |
Validation (01/31/1999) |
Implementation
(03/31/1999) |
| 1) Accounts/Pay-roll Cost System | 12/31/1996
(100%) |
04/30/1997
(100%) |
09/30/1998
(100%) |
11/30/1998
(100%) |
03/31/1999
(100%) |
| 2) Budget Reporting System | 12/31/1996
(100%) |
05/31/1997
(100%) |
09/30/1997
(100%) |
06/10/1998
(100%) |
06/15/1998
(100%) |
| 3)
Communications & Office Automation (Comm/OA) |
12/31/1996
(100%) |
08/31/1997
(100%) |
09/30/1998
(100%) |
01/31/1999
(100%) |
03/31/1999
(100%) |
| 4) Contracts and Procurement Information System (CPIS) | 12/31/1996
(100%) |
08/31/1997
(100%) |
09/30/1998
(100%) |
01/31/1999
(100%) |
03/31/1999
(100%) |
| 5) Fiscal Management Information System (FMIS) | 12/31/1996
(100%) |
05/31/1997
(100%) |
09/30/1998
(100%) |
01/31/1999
(100%) |
03/31/1999
(100%) |
| 6) Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) | 12/31/1996
(100%) |
08/31/1997
(100%) |
09/30/1998
(100%) |
10/30/1998
(100%) |
03/31/1999
(100%) |
| 7) Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) | 12/31/1996
(100%) |
06/30/1997
(100%) |
09/30/1998
(100%) |
01/31/1999
(100%) |
03/31/1999
(100%) |
| 8) National Bridge Inventory System (NBIS) | 12/31/1996
(100%) |
06/30/1997
(100%) |
04/30/1998
(100%) |
04/30/1998
(100%) |
07/01/1998
(100%) |
| 9) Personnel Management Information System (PMIS) | 12/31/1996
(100%) |
05/31/1997
(100%) |
11/30/1997
(100%) |
06/30/1998
(100%) |
07/31/1998
(100%) |
(1) Any automated system or application that directly supports the performance of a core mission function or requirement within your organization. (Definition per DOT CIO e-mail of 6/13/1997.)
(2) OMB adopted the phases as recommended in the Federal CIO Council Subcommittee's Year 2000 "Best Practices" Document.
DOT Crisis Management Center (CMC)
The DOT Crisis Management Center will be operational corresponding with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's activation, which is now planned for 7:00 a.m. -- 7:00 p.m. on December 28, 29, 30 and January 2, 3, 4, and 24 hours on December 31 and January 1.
Staffing Pattern: Headquarters and Field
Headquarters:
The FHWA will provide sufficient personnel to augment the cadre at the DOT CMC during its planned activation from December 28, 1999, through January 4, 2000. This activity will be coordinated through the Emergency Management Team in the Office of Transportation Operations.
The FHWA will participate in this activity from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on December 28, 29, 30, and on January 2, 3, 4. Although the CMC will be operational from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. during that time frame, it is not critical for the FHWA to operate on a 12-hour basis during those days. The FHWA will also be actively involved in CMC operations round-the-clock (8-hour shifts) beginning at 6:00 a.m. on December 31 and ending at 10:00 p.m. on January 1, as long as there is not a Y2K emergency.
The Office of Emergency Transportation (OET) must provide training to FHWA personnel on reporting procedures and operations of the CMC work stations.
Field:
The FHWA does not plan to activate the Division offices during the CMC's activation period. However, all Division Emergency Preparedness Coordinators will be on standby status in the event of a Y2K emergency and will be asked to take home their office's satellite phone. Each Division office will assist the FHWA Emergency Coordinator (in the Office of Transportation Operations) in making arrangements with State departments of transportation (SDOT) and State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA) to provide periodic reports directly to the CMC during the Y2K activation period. On January 3, all Division offices will report on the operational status of their offices (i.e., electricity, water, computer systems, telephones, etc.).
Internal Systems:
The normal on-call staff will be supplemented to handle any likely problems. All support staff will be alerted to the special potential for problems during this period and will be at least on-call if not on-site.
Plans for Communicating with Industry Partners and International Groups
External:
The FHWA will pre-plan and maintain communications with State agencies such as the State DOTs and the SEMAs. A list of "elements of information" (i.e., status on traffic signals, toll roads, movable bridges, etc.) will be developed and used as a reporting checklist. Since State DOTs are the owners, operators, and maintainers of our highways, no communication with industry partners or international groups are planned or anticipated.
Internal:
For our internal operations, we will maintain close contact with our support vendors to address any problems that may arise.
Y2K Outreach Program with Partners and Customers
The FHWA has had an extensive Y2K outreach program in action for several years. Actions taken include the following:
Since FHWA's major business processes have been automated for 2 to 3 decades, there is no practical manual business process to use as a full function alternative to the automated system for our mission critical applications. For this reason, FHWA has conducted an extensive and comprehensive program of Y2K assessment, testing, and validation.
Based on the results of our comprehensive Y2K program and the information collected from FHWA system owners for the BCCP, we do not expect our mission critical systems to malfunction on or after January 1, 2000.
Our approach to the Y2K focus of the BCCP was outlined in our Y2K quarterly report to OMB dated May 15. FHWA has evaluated the Y2K vulnerability of its mission-critical systems and has determined that should a Y2K related problem occur, there is no likely scenario that will cause any function to be down over 2 weeks. We currently have sufficient resources available to correct any likely problem. Further, our mission critical systems are not so time dependent that a 2 week downtime could not be permitted. However, FHWA system owners have developed reduced function manual processes that will be used until the automated system is corrected regardless of how long the system is inoperable. The backup manual process to be used will vary depending on the duration of the outage. In all cases our reporting capability will be significantly reduced.
The normal on-call staff will be supplemented to handle any problems that occur during the December 28, 1999, to January 7, 2000, time period as well as on February 29, 2000. All support staff will be alerted to the special potential for problems and will be either on-site or on-call.
System Name: Accounts/Payroll Cost System
Description:
The Accounts/Payroll Cost System is made up of several sub-systems that interface with the Departmental Accounting Financial Information System (DAFIS).
These sub-systems include:
Federal-Aid Payments (PR20) enables the State Highway Agency (SHA) to electronically transmit payment data to FHWA and allows SHA's and FHWA to electronically sign the PR-20 and transmit this data to DAFIS.
Daily Accounts Reporting and Ad-Hoc Accounts Reporting (DAFISX) are used to provide DAFIS information to FHWA Headquarters and Field Offices.
Payroll Cost collects project cost information from FHWA Federal Lands Offices and transmits it to DAFIS.
Third Party Draft issues TPD's and interfaces with DAFIS.
Internal/External Interfaces:
Y2K Risk Assessment:
Low.
Status of Y2K Compliance Efforts:
The system has been renovated, validated, and implemented.
Contingency Plan:
PR-20 Current Billing System
The most visible system within the Accounts umbrella is the PR-20 Current Billing System. This system is used to transmit billing requests and reimburse the States for the various FHWA programs. The system is fed from the States' accounting system and provides project level detail expenditure data that is used to create the required summary information needed to reimburse the State for their respective projects.
Whenever the States' accounting system cannot either produce or transmit the data within the prescribed time-frames, we allow the States to submit a manual PR-20 via FAX and we process the schedule manually. Assuming that the FOX payment system is functioning, this process could be employed for an extended period of time. Should the FOX system be unavailable, then we would explore with Treasury and/or the Federal Reserve to provide an alternate means of paying the States.
Payroll Cost System
The Payroll Cost System is an internal system interface that permits FHWA to perform a finite distribution of Payroll Costs to the various appropriations within the overall FHWA program. This distribution has been automated for over 30 years and we do not have a manual process that could replace it for even a short period of time. Assuming that the Departmental Accounting System is available, we could temporarily perform a high level distribution of these costs until any Y2K problems are resolved at which time we would produce corrected distributions.
System Name: Budget Reporting System
Description:
The Budget Reporting System is made up of several groups of programs that produce various staffing cost reports, including the Full Time Equivalency, Salary Projection, Grade Analysis, Within Grade and Merit Increase, and Personnel Compensation Reports.
Internal/External Interfaces:
Y2K Risk Assessment:
Low.
Status of Y2K Compliance Efforts:
The system has been renovated, validated, and implemented.
Contingency Plan:
Day 1 (January 1, 2000) Plus 13 - within first 2 weeks:
The OMB no longer uses the Full Time Equivalency as a controlling factor for managing personnel resources, therefore this downtime period would not be considered critical. However, the manual data and reports produced from the CPMIS continue to be used by the FHWA for monitoring purposes. There would be no adverse impact on Agency operations during this time period.
2 weeks to 90 days:
The above interfaces are external to FHWA. We would make use of the manual data and reports provided by the FAA on FHWA payroll and salaries to perform manual computations and projections during this time period. Refinements to other reports, e.g. FTE, would be less critical.
91 days & after:
The process for this time period would be very similar to the previous period. Additional budget and funding decisions will be characterized by careful evaluation during the remaining months of the fiscal year.
System Name: Communications and Office Automation
Description:
As part of its overall Year 2000 assessment and mitigation plan, the FHWA has reviewed the technology used to support end-user computing. The primary point of contact is the Team Leader for the Information Policy and Technology Infrastructure Team, Information Technology Division, Office of Information and Management Services, who also serves as the chairman of the Agency-wide Infrastructure and Technology Steering Committee (ITSC). This committee makes general assessments of, and standards for, computer technology used throughout the Agency, such as the baseline office automation software used by all offices. The standard technology identified by the ITSC in that report is used as the starting point for this plan.
The four areas identified in the Infrastructure Plan are:
Elements of this section are being identified and addressed directly by the system owners in conjunction with the Information Technology Division and its contractors. They are discussed in the appropriate sections of the overall FHWA Year 2000 Plan.
As a brief summary these elements include:
1.A the networking, desktop computer, and baseline software discussed in sections 2-4 below;
1.B the USDOT TASC Computer Center (TCC) where legacy mainframe applications reside, and the ICEMAN Center where departmental applications managed by FAA are hosted; and
1.C external computer and telecommunications networks, including the USDOT Intermodal Data Network (IDN); FAA ADTN 2000 data network; the AT&T FTS data network; and AAMVA-Net, a re-seller of AT&T Global Network Services providing systems network architecture (SNA) connectivity between the States and TCC.
The physical components of the networks supporting item 1 are external to the FHWA and will be covered by the contingency plans of those organizations. Software components of FAA's Enterprise Systems are covered under specific plans prepared with the cooperation of each system owner and are documented elsewhere.
2A. FHWA WAN
FHWA operates a nationwide data communications network utilizing the AT&T FTS 2000 system. At the present time, there are 80 remote locations connected to Headquarters through frame-relay circuits. The network provides connectivity for e-mail, enterprise applications access to both NT and mainframe based systems. Internet access, and other basic digital communication.
Y2K Risk Assessment:
Occurrence probability: Low
Severity assessment: Low/moderate: Some disruption to Agency operations; Little or no impact on the safety of the public or Agency personnel.
Status of Y2K Compliance Efforts:
The FHWA maintained hardware and software have been vendor certified as Y2K compliant.
FHWA updated its nationwide data infrastructure in 1997 with new dedicated routers (3Com Model 227) in all field offices. The hardware and software have been certified as Y2K compliant by the vendors. At Headquarters, the connections between the AT&T FTS frame relay network is via two Netbuilder II routers. The hardware and software for these systems have also been vendor certified as Y2K compliant.
Contingency Plan:
In the event of a failure of one or more of these components, the following actions would be initiated:
Day 1 (January 1, 2000) Plus 13 - within first 2 weeks:
2.A.1) All offices would be instructed to send vital inter- and intra-agency communications via facsimile. Transmission of routine inter-office communications would be suspended until the situation was rectified.
2.A.2) Access to mainframe-based agency and departmental systems (FMIS, IPPS, DAFIS, etc.) would be via modem direct dial-in to TCC rather than over the Wide Area Network.
2.A.3) An E-Mail account for each field office would be set up on a central Headquarters GroupWise 5.5. e-mail server accessible over the Internet via browser. Remote offices would be authorized to set up an account with a local Internet Service Provide (ISP) for this purpose.
2 weeks to 90 days:
Same as above.
91 days and over.
Failed equipment would be replaced by compliant equipment. In the eventof an external network failure; new service would be obtained from another source, MCI under the FTS 2001 contract.
2B. Headquarters Backbone Network
In the FHWA Washington Headquarters (Nassif Building), the Agency operates a backbone network, tying the various office workgroup systems (LANs) to each other, the WAN, and to the U.S. DOT Intermodal Data Network.
The elements of this network include network hubs which are unintelligent and contain no date-sensitive components; 3COM model 1100 and 3300 switches installed in 1999 that are Y2K compliant and which contain some intelligence and management functions; Netbuilder routers such as those used on the WAN; and a number of intelligent 3COM chassis-based hubs which connect peripherals and routers to the network. The "core" router and chassis hubs were installed in 1998 when the backbone was updated to asynchronous transfer mode (ATM).
Y2K Risk Assessment:
Occurance probability: Low
Severity assessment: Low/moderate: some disruption to Agency operations; little or no impact on the safety of the public or Agency personnel.
Status of Y2K Compliance Efforts:
All of these systems have been checked for Year 2000 hardware and software compliance.
Contingency Plan:
Day 1 (January 1, 2000) Plus 13 - within first 2 weeks:
Since a failure of the Headquarters backbone would isolate the field offices in a fashion similar to a WAN failure, the first three steps would be the same.
2.B.1) All offices would be instructed to send vital inter- and intra-agency communications via facsimile. Transmission of routine inter-office communications would be suspended until the situation was rectified.
2.B.2) Access to mainframe-based Agency and departmental systems (FMIS, IPPS, DAFIS, etc.) would be via modem direct dial-in to TCC rather than over the WAN.
2.B.3) An E-Mail account for each field office would be set up on a central Headquarters GroupWise 5.5. e-mail server accessible over the Internet via browser. Remote offices would be authorized to set up an account with a local Internet Service Provide (ISP) for this purpose.
2.B.4) The GroupWise server identified in step 2.B.3. above would be moved to the DOT IDN network. Dial-in access and accounts would be provided for Headquarters offices.
2 weeks to 90 days:
Critical users would be migrated back to the older backbone fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) network utilizing un-intelligent equipment that has no date sensitivity. If the FHWA segment of this network were to be unavailable, the hubs would be directly connected to the IDN backbone.
91 days & after:
All failed equipment would be replaced by compliant equipment.
2C. Network Operating System
The primary network environment used in FHWA is Novell Netware. Version 3.12 was the standard Network OS used on all servers through 1998. The Agency obtained a Master License in FY 1997 for IntraNetware 4.11 and began migration planning and testing; formal implementation commenced in FY 1999 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of calendar year 1999. Novell has stated that Intranetware 4.11 is Year 2000 compliant.
Y2K Risk Assessment:
Occurance probability: Low
Severity assessment: Low/moderate: some disruption to Agency operations; little or no impact on the safety of the public or Agency personnel.
Status of Y2K Compliance Efforts:
Both versions of the software (3.12 and 4.11) have been patched in accordance with Novell's instructions and tested internally by setting dates forward.
Contingency Plan:
(Assuming isolated failures at particular servers)
Day 1 (January 1, 2000) Plus 13 - within first 2 weeks:
Users would operate as standalone desktops with locally installed software. The Corel 8 Suite (including Wordperfect) is installed on each PCs hard drive and therefore could continue to be used without the LAN file server being operational. Printers would be connected to individual workstations. As the Wide Area Network would be operable, connectivity to enterprise Agency systems would be maintained. E-mail accounts would be set up on a central Headquarters Web-accessible server.
2 weeks to 90 days:
Equipment and software would be updated and/or replaced, if necessary by re-configuring an existing workstation as a server.
91 days & after:
Same as above.
NOTE: In case of a system failure of the Novell Networking Operating System, the Agency would transition to a Windows NT Server; however, the probability of such an occurrence is minute.
3A. Desktop Operating System
The basic Agency PC operating system is Windows NT 4.0. NT 4.0 software is itself Year-2000 compliant (with exceptions) and offers additional safeguards that can offset deficiencies in the underlying hardware BIOS and real-time clock.
3B. Standard PC Workstations
Based on internal requirements, such as the common software baseline, industry innovations and standards, current market conditions and the strategic direction set by the ITSC, the Information Technology Division periodically issues revised standard workstation specification. This specification is used as a baseline by program offices (with any necessary additions and revisions required to fulfill individual mission requirements) to purchase computer workstations in compliance with each office's approved annual IRM Plan. Beginning in FY 1997, the base specification included a requirement for Year 2000 compliance in BIOS and operating software supplied with new PC's purchased for FHWA.
In addition, the Agency has periodically specified a minimum standard for all PC workstations in order to support it software base. Typically the minimum specification includes acceptable processor chips and speed, minimum memory (RAM), and hard disk size. This minimum hardware specification was last updated in 1998 to support Windows NT 32bit-based applications and specified a Pentium Intel processor with 32M of RAM and 500 Mbytes of hard disk space.
Y2K Risk Assessment:
Occurrence probability: Moderate in isolated cases; very low as a system-wide problem.
Severity assessment: Low: Some disruption to Agency operations; no foreseeable impact on the safety of the public or Agency personnel.
Status of Y2K Compliance Efforts:
FHWA has migrated its standard desktops to the Y2K compliant version of Windows NT and will continue to monitor the Y2K status of the software and apply any future patches as they are released by the software vendor. For example, FHWA will apply NT 4.0 service pack 5 on its servers this summer to correct Y2K deficiencies identified by Microsoft.
Contingency Plan:
(Assuming isolated problems)
Day 1 (January 1, 2000) Plus 13 - within first 2 weeks:
Re-assign functional machines to critical personnel.
2 weeks to 90 days:
Obtain replacement systems.
91 days & after:
Same as above.
As a consequence of its shift to a 32-bit desktop operating environment (see above) the FHWA evaluated a set of baseline COTS software applications for use throughout the Agency. As part of this process, documents were obtained from each of the candidate software vendors verifying their current compliance or intentions to comply with Year 2000 standards. The Corel WordPerfect 8 Suite was selected and agency-wide licenses for the new standard baseline packages were negotiated in FY 1998.
| Category | Former Standard | 32-bit Standard |
| E-Mail /Office Automation | GroupWise 4.1 (Novell) | GroupWise
5(Novell) being
installed with Novell IntraNetware 4.11 11/97-12/99 |
| Word Processing | WordPerfect 6.1 (Corel) | WordPerfect 8 (Corel) |
| Spreadsheet | ".wk1" format; no specific package. | Quattro Pro 8 (Corel) |
| Presentation Graphics | Powerpoint
(Microsoft) selected 1996.
Still supported as "alternate" for specific users. |
Presentations 8 (Corel) |
| Database | .DBF format; no specific package. | Paradox (Corel) |
| Electronic Forms | Informs 4.0 (Novell) | Informs 4.3 (Novell) |
| Web Browser | Netscape (Corel) | Netscape (Corel) |
Internal/External Interfaces:
Not applicable for personal computer hardware which is used in a large number of contexts, but date-related interfaces are software dependent.
Generally COTS software is used to develop or enable interfaces to some systems, but is not normally considered part of that system. No specific dependencies relating to mission critical systems have been identified.
Electronic Mail (E-Mail) may be considered to be an exception to the statement above. Handling of date formats for messages to/from external systems can affect retention and automatic deletion of messages.
Note: While overall, the COTS software packages for word processing, spreadsheets, and database form one basis for producing and exchanging information within the Agency, none of these are part of a designated mission critical system for personnel, finance, program, or grant administration, etc.
Y2K Risk Assessment:
Occurrence probability: Low.
Severity assessment: Low/moderate: some disruption to Agency operations, little or no impact on the safety of the public or Agency personnel.
Status of Y2K Compliance Efforts:
The FHWA has upgraded to the latest versions of all COTS software and obtained statements of Y2K compliance from the vendors. FHWA will continue to monitor the Y2K status of the COTS software and apply any future patches as they are released by the software vendors.
Contingency Plan:
Day 1 (January 1, 2000) Plus 13 - within first 2 weeks:
Restore affected files from backup.
Determine incompatibility cause.
The Corel 8 Suite (including WordPerfect) is installed on each PCs hard drive and therefore could continue to be used without the LAN file server being operational.
2 weeks to 90 days:
Apply fixes, contact vendor for updated software.
91 days & after:
Obtain and migrate to alternative software package.
System Name: Contracts and Procurement Information System (CPIS)
Description:
This is a management information system used by the FHWA to track acquisition data from receipt of procurement requests (PRs) through award, final payment, and closeout.
It contains an Oracle database system that provides numerous management reports.
The current system is called "Windows PRISM," a trademark product of Compusearch Software Systems, Inc. This system has been certified by Compusearch as being Y2K compliant.
Internal/External Interfaces:
At the current time, there is no electronic transfer of data to or from this system by the FHWA. Data from PRISM is manually reentered into the DOT's Contract Information System (CIS) by the FHWA Office of Acquisition Management. A CIS interface is being tested by the TASC and will be available for Department-wide use after the testing is completed. Procurement Requests are entered into the PRISM system from paper copies. PRISM does have the capability of electronic generation of Procurement Requests from the requisitioners. The current schedule would bring requisitioners onboard after January 1, 2000. Financial information is manually entered into DAFIS by the Office of Budget and Finance from a paper copy of a purchase order, contract, grant, and cooperative agreement.
Y2K Risk Assessment:
Minimal Y2K Risk. Compusearch has supplied FHWA with a letter of Y2K certification for this software.
Status of Y2K Compliance Efforts:
The Y2K compliant version of the vendor software has been tested and implemented.
Contingency Plan:
Day 1 (January 1, 2000) Plus 13 - within the first 2 weeks:
During the last two weeks in December all historical records will be printed out by fiscal year, beginning with FY95. The Office of Acquisition Management has never received a data request that has required data beyond a five year period. The records would be sorted by contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, purchase orders, and interagency agreements. In addition, the Office of Acquisition Management has paper copies of all of these documents either in the office or in the Federal Records Center. (These records must be maintained for a period of seven (7) years.) The Office of Acquisition Management would also print out blank copies of all Standard Forms that are contained within the PRISM system.
During the initial two week period, the office would be alerted to the situation, attempt to remedy any Y2K problems, and bring the system back to operational status. The Procurement Information Assistant would maintain a paper copy of all incoming procurement requests to be entered into the system when it becomes operational.
Over 2 weeks
At this point, a paper tracking system would be initiated to account for all procurement requests received. The milestone status of each PR would be traced as it moves through the system toward award. A central log system would be initiated on a stand-alone PC or a paper version that would be maintained by the Procurement Information Assistant. Since a paper copy of the PR is still used, it would continue to be given to the appropriate Division Chief, who in turn would assign the PR to a Team Leader. Each Team Leader would have to record the PR on a stand-alone PC or establish an individual paper log of all incoming PRs assigned to their team. The Team Leader would make the assignment to the Contract Specialist and the Contract Specialist would have to establish a PC spread sheet or some type of paper tracking system to record each milestone in the pre-award process. The specialists could use 3x5 index cards.
Currently, all of the Office of Acquisition Management's Commerce Business Daily (CBD) Announcements and solicitations are posted through the General Services Administration's Electronic Posting System (EPS). Assuming this is not an option, a copy of the announcement would be mailed to the CBD. The PRISM system also contains the office's contract writing system, so assuming stand-alone PCs, lap-top computers, or electric typewriters are available, the office could continue to generate its solicitations and contract/modification awards.
Once the office awards its instruments, it is dependent on the Office of Budget and Finance to obligate the monies and pay all vouchers and invoices. In addition, all awardinformation would be recorded on a paper copy of the SF281 and SF279. A copy for the file would be maintained. This data would be forwarded to the DOT CIS.
During the contract administration phase of an effort, much of the tracking is still accomplished via paper. Progress reports, vouchers/invoices, issues, etc. are still conveyed by letter. Monthly reports would have to be compiled from either a stand-alone PC spread sheet or in a manual fashion from paper records. Any instruments closed-out during this time period would be tracked on stand-alone PCs or manually recorded on paper. Again, the Office of Acquisition Management is dependent on the Office of Budget and Finance to pay the final voucher and deobligate any remaining monies.
System Name: Fiscal Management Information System (FMIS)
Description:
FMIS contains data related to all highway projects financed by the Federal Government. FMIS provides instant access to current project data, as well as data on closed projects. FMIS supports electronic data sharing with State DOTs and allows electronic signatures for project authorizations, project agreements, and modifications. Obligation data is sent to the Departmental Accounting Financial Information System (DAFIS) and expenditure data is received from DAFIS.
The current version of the FMIS database was initially implemented in 1989 utilizing 4-digit date fields.
Internal/External Interfaces:
Y2K Risk Assessment:
Low.
Status of Y2K Compliance Efforts:
The system has been renovated, validated, and implemented.
Contingency Plan:
Day 1 (January 1, 2000) Plus 13 - within first 2 weeks:
Using reports as of December 31, 1999, for funds and obligation limitation available, the States can authorize and obligate funds manually. The States will submit the paper documents to the FHWA Division offices. The division offices will process the documents manually. They will verify that funds and obligation limitation, if applicable, are available. The paper documents will be retained for entry records when the system bcomes available.
After 2 weeks:
The manual process described above will continue. The division offices will provide the Headquarters Office of Budget and Finance with month-end transactions. The Finance Division will prepare spreadsheets to record the transactions for State-by-State totals and U.S. summary. Memorandums of allocations to the States will be mailed from the program offices to the Finance Division and division offices. The additional funds available to the States will be manually recorded. Transfers of funds will be requested by memorandum from the division offices to the Finance Division.
System Name: Highway Performance and Monitoring System (HPMS)
Description:
The Highway Performance and Monitoring System (HPMS) was implemented to help assess the extent, physical condition, safety, and efficiency of the nation's highway system. Mileage, travel, accident, and vehicle classification data are gathered on a statewide, rural, and urban basis.
Internal/External Interfaces:
The HPMS software consists of systems both for FHWA in Headquarters and for the States to use to prepare the data for submittal to the FHWA on an annual basis. The data is due to be submitted each year on June 15.
The HPMS Software used by the States to prepare the data is a Windows-based system and is Year 2000 compliant. Each year a State uses the software to update, edit, and calculate data items using the inventoried data for the highway system and runs reports in preparing their data for submittal. Currently the States are using Version 2.5 for the June 1999 submittal. Version 3.0 is under development to align with the HPMS Reassessment which was completed in December 1998.
The HPMS Software used by FHWA in Headquarters consists of the system to receive/process the data received from the States, review the data submitted by each State, conduct queries on the data to answer questions for various clients about the Nation's highways, to output the raw data for requests, and to prepare the Highway Statistics publication each year. The software and data are on the HPMS server.
Y2K Risk Assessment:
Low.
Status of Y2K Compliance Efforts:
The system was rewritten to meet revised user requirements. Changes necessary to address the Year 2000 issue were incorporated into the new system.
Contingency Plan:
Day 1 (January 1, 2000) Plus 13 - within first 2 weeks:
If the system is down for 2 weeks or less, the request for information from the HPMS could be put on hold. The normal turnaround time for data requests is 3 to 7 days.
2 weeks to 90 days:
All of the requests for information on the Nation's highways would be answered by using the published Highway Statistics. The last available report would be for 1998 data submitted in June of 1999. The Agency would be able to provide historical data from the reports from 1980 to 1997. The reports are summaries of the data submitted for each State for selected data items such as length, travel, pavement, ownership, lane width, access control, etc. The reports are by different categories -- functional system, National Highway System, the Nation, individual States, urbanized areas, and some of the individual data items. Some of the results from different reports could be combined to obtain the information for the specific request.
The FHWA would not be able to provide the raw data to any client if the system is down. The HPMS data is on a server for the years 1993 - 1998; it is on the mainframe for prior years. There would be no way to get the raw data from any backup system.
91 days & after:
If the system is down May 15 - June 30, the Agency would not be able to receive/process the 1999 HPMS data. The data is submitted three ways -- electronically, on a diskette, or on a CD. The electronic transmittal of this data would not be possible. If the data were received on a diskette or on a CD, the Agency would not be able to process the data for that State at this time. The submittal could not be processed until the HPMS software for Headquarters was available.
All data requests for HPMS information would be handled as described above.
System Name: Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS)
Description:
The Motor Carrier and Highway Safety (MC&HS) Core Business Unit (CBU) is responsible for developing and enforcing safety standards for motor carriers operating commercial motor vehicles in interstate or foreign commerce in the United States. The MCMIS is an automated system used by the MC&HS CBU to accumulate nationally the operations and safety data related to these motor carriers and to distribute these data to the States and field offices, as needed, to support MC&HS enforcement programs.
Internal/External Interfaces:
Data are updated in MCMIS continuously through data uploads using MC&HS-developed software (SAFETYNET) in the States and MC&HS field offices, and through on-line data entry. SAFETYNET is currently Y2K complaint.
Y2K Risk Assessment:
Low.
Status of Y2K Compliance Efforts:
MCMIS has been renovated for Y2K compliance:
Final testing to confirm Y2K compliance of the MCMIS database was completed on March 31, 1999. MCMIS has been thoroughly tested and put into production.
Contingency Plan:
Requests for USDOT numbers (MCS-150 forms) would be temporarily accumulated in Headquarters until the Y2K problem was resolved.
State and field offices would be told not to attempt uploads of safety data.
No reports could be produced.
No algorithms could be run, e.g., safety rating algorithm, SafeStat, etc.
Our web site (SAFER) would be used temporarily to obtain information on motor carriers.
The amount of data processed would preclude any manual handling of these processes. This is why input data will be accumulated until it can be entered into the system when it becomes available.
System Name: National Bridge Inventory System (NBIS)
Description:
This system is maintained on the mainframe computer where it supplies information pertaining to all highway bridges throughout the United States. The system is used to generate reports for Congress, the Senate, State and Federal Agencies, as well as the general public. Typically, these reports specify the conditions of similar structures, aid in developing maintenance schedules, and provide defense agencies with discretionary information during strategic maneuvers.
Internal/External Interfaces:
Annual submission of bridge data from the States in a format specified by FHWA. The data format has already been made Y2K compliant through date field expansion and windowing.
Y2K Risk Assessment:
Low.
Status of Y2K Compliance Efforts:
All modules have been identified that require changes to make the NBIS Y2K compliant. They have been modified and tested extensively with dates spanning across time frames deemed critical to operations of the NBIS. A Y2K Test Plan was developed to document the testing of the system. In the document, each area of operation is specified along with a test description, expected test results, test results, a run date, test dates and/or dates spanned, and sign-off by the developer testing the operation.
Contingency Plan:
Day 1 (January 1, 2000) Plus 13 - within first 2 weeks:
Should a disruption occur due to the millennium change, a down time of 2 to 4 weeks for the NBIS is permissible. Almost all functions can be performed on a PC system.
After 2 weeks:
If after that period TCC services are still not available and PC services are available, then data that has been recorded on CD's can be loaded into a PC database. Updates that are performed in April can be processed into that database. Lists of eligible bridges for funding could be produced and approval of projects could be made from those lists. Preliminary apportionment figures, usually due June 1, could be generated from the PC database. The final apportionment figures, due September 1, could also be generated using the PC database and a spreadsheet software package. Most reports and queries could be run from the PC database. A PC executable program for printing structure inventory and appraisal (SI&A) sheets was developed a couple of years ago and could be used for generating SI&A reports (that program has been tested for Y2K compliance). The missing link in the PC based system for a period of time longer than a couple of months would be the monthly "cross-match" to a FMIS tape of bridge transactions. This file is run against the database monthly to mark bridge records that have used Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program funds. The system adds and deletes a mark based on a 10 year period. No manual or PC process could be implemented for the removal of the marks since a10 year history is needed. The addition of new marks could be implemented through a transaction log sent in from the Division offices.
In the event that the PC system is not working, there is no manual way to update and maintain the inventory of bridges. Annual apportionments, however, could be issued based on last year's numbers to ensure flow of funds.
System Name: Personnel Management Information System (PMIS)
Description:
The PMIS is made up of several mainframe and micro based sub-systems that FHWA uses in conjunction with the Department's Personnel Systems (Integrated Personnel Payroll System (IPPS), Consolidated Personnel Management Information System (CPMIS)) to provide personnel data.
FHWA maintains the following sub-systems:
IPPS SF-52 System is used to generate SF-52's for Personnel Actions.
IPPS T&A system generates and transmits T&A's to Payroll in Atlanta.
The Personnel Reporting System (PRS) uses monthly data from CPMIS and IPPS, to produce special reports needed by FHWA management.
The Training Management System (TMS) provides FHWA with a set of automated tools to effectively collect, analyze, and respond to training needs.
Personnel Action Reminders provides its users with ticklers and notices for different types of personnel actions.
Performance Management System allows offices to enter employee performance ratings and transmit them to the Office of Human Resources.
Personnel Budget and Tracking allows the Office of Human Resources to track its budget expenditures for a fiscal year.
Internal/External Interfaces:
Y2K Risk Assessment:
Low.
Contingency Plan:
Assumptions: Working - Phone system, fax, mail system, manual FedX, copiers, Lektriever (electronic filing cabinet); Not working - E-mail, LAN, PC's, software, WAN.
Activities to occur prior to the end of calendar year 1999:
Office of Human Resources
| Action item: | Performance
Ratings and Awards are to be completed and processed in CPMIS by the end
of December, 1999.
Send a notice to all FHWA offices notifying them of the importance of having ratings and awards completed prior to the end of the calendar year. Order Standard Forms, such as SF-50's etc., to ensure availability of hard copy forms needed. |
| T&A Clerks Action Item: | Print blank T&A forms to ensure availability for entering time and attendance data; print T&A's for month of December for reference. |
Day 1 (January 1, 2000) Plus 13 - within first 2 weeks:
T&A's will be prepared manually. Other systems will stay on hold.
2 weeks to 90 days:
91 days & after:
