Y2K OK: No problems reported on campus

Campus facilities and utility systems did not experience any known Y2K problems, the Physical Plant reports.

Thirty Physical Plant employees and staff members worked overnight Dec. 31 monitoring various campus systems, building equipment, power plants and utility networks.

The Division of Information Technology, which also was staffed through the weekend, says computer glitches that appear this week should be reported to the DoIT Help Desk as usual — and users should not assume problems are Y2K-related.

Campus officials say the glitch-free New Year was a tribute to the many employees who spent a great deal of time investigating and correcting what needed to be fixed over the past year.

“Those preparations obviously paid off,” says Bruce Braun, assistant vice chancellor for facilities planning and management.

UW Police Department Capt. Dale Burke reported “no problems whatsoever” with the Y2K rollover Saturday. “Everything went fine,” he says. An MG&E power surge not related to Y2K early Saturday caused some campus alarms to go off, but they were quickly reset, Burke adds.

At the UW Hospital and Clinics, there were no Y2K problems, says hospital spokeswoman Lisa Brunette. “It was very, very quiet,” she adds. The hospital’s computers ran all weekend and did not experience any glitches then or on Monday morning, Brunette says.