The paper-products manufacturer has already brought its AS/400 computer hardware and software into compliance, is testing its PC hardware and software, and has begun work on contingency plans, which include using multiple manufacturing facilities so production can continue if one plant goes down. "We'll do very well," Herman says. "We started year 2000 planning in mid-1997, had full management support, and don't anticipate any major problems."

Herman's confidence is due in part to the company's size: American Tissue, which is privately held, has about 800 employees. "We're a relatively small shop, and I have everything laid out in front of me, so it's easily contained," he says. "If we suddenly jumped into the future by six months, we could handle it."

But the same may not be true for many other small manufacturers. The National Association of Manufacturers' recent survey of its 10,000 members with 500 employees or fewer found that only 60% report their accounting systems are Y2K compliant; 55% have shop-floor systems in order; and 40% see no need for contingency plans.

InformationWeek's survey found that larger companies are further along with contingency planning than smaller ones. Among companies with $1 billion or more in revenue, 86% have contingency plans in place, compared with 80% of midsize companies (revenue between $100 million and $1 billion) and 69% of small companies (less than $100 million in revenue).

The manufacturers group wants to help small companies catch up quickly by working with audit firm McGladrey & Pullen, Great Plains Software, and Compaq to offer JumpStart 2000. This emergency replacement software can be implemented in one to four weeks and handles general ledger, inventory, build-to-purchase, orders, and other functions, either as modules or as an enterprisewide system. "It's offered as a temporary solution, an overlay rather than a permanent fix," says John Peyton, director of technology policy at the association. The software is available only to association members.

Whether small or large, companies--and their IT staffs--are looking forward to the day when Y2K work is behind them for good. For now, however, IT mangers slaving over the last details of their Y2K projects are more concerned about viability than liability.

For information about obtaining a copy of the InformationWeek research used in this story, go to www.informationweek.com/reports.

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Illustration by Doug Panton