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Machinery makers take some responsibility

Packaging machine builders recognize their role in helping customers find answers to Y2K problems. Some are working to find solutions, while others are relying on controls vendors.

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More than anything, the depth of the commitment to helping customers solve Y2K problems on packaging equipment related to the size of the machinery company. The larger national suppliers generally had comprehensive plans, while the smaller, regional companies often simply referred questions to their vendors.

One respondent, from a major national machinery supplier, revealed his company's ambitious approach. "We went back seven or eight years and looked at what components we used, and then contacted those companies," he said. "Then we wrote a policy . . . and created a table that shows components in question, components that are not compliant and other components that are compliant as they apply to our machines. We provide this [table] to any customer who asks for it."

Another major supplier of materials handling equipment does supply a "statement" that virtually guarantees the readiness of that company's equipment for the "roll-over" date. However, that firm's respondent admitted that "it's all lawyers' words." Another national builder of machinery issues statements. "We don't offer a guarantee. But we do have a statement that says our machines have been Y2K-compliance validated," the respondent said. "But then [the statement] limits liability. We say that if it turns out something isn't Y2K-compliant, we cannot be held responsible for resulting problems or damage." This company will work with customers to correct any problems that they may have.

A smaller manufacturer of stock machines provides a written guarantee because the machines carry no time-sensitive systems, its representative said. But there is also a clear proviso in that guarantee, he added, that eliminates liability if the machine has been at all altered by a third party like a systems integrator.

Another national supplier of capital equipment has already performed a lot of the research into fixing any problems. First, this company contacted any suppliers of date-sensitive hardware or software. Then, its Y2K specialist reported, the company used third-party software vendors to test the systems. "That's how we determined which machines needed upgrade paths."

Some costs involved

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