Plans to safeguard Panama Canal operations from Y2K-related disruption are highly advanced, the waterway's administration said last week. The Panama Canal Commission (PCC) has implemented a five-phase U.S. federal government plan since 1996, to ensure that all date-sensitive computers and software applications are prepared for year-end glitches, Francisco Loaiza, Chief Information Officer at the PCC said. Following an inventory of computers, servers, information systems and "embedded equipment" - machinery like fax machines and VHS recorders that contain a microprocessor - all necessary network upgrades and replacements have been made, Loaiza said. All Canal administration PC networks have been tested, and validated systems have been put back into operation.