This is just what you've been looking for - official advice to start out the New Year slowly, one step at a time.

No matter how much organisations have done to assess Y2K risks to health and safety, and no matter how many contingency plans are in place, says the HSE, operations should be re-started carefully.

"Even where every piece of date-related equipment has been thoroughly checked and re-checked," advises deputy director general David Eves, "there is a risk that a bug may still be there."

The HSE urges that all staff involved in the operation of equipment are sufficiently familiar with it to spot anything abnormal - and know what to do about it if this happens.

In addition, says the HSE, equipment should be started one piece at a time so that if problems do occur, they can be isolated.

Extra precautions should be in place right through into March, since the leap year addition of February 29th could expose latent Y2K problems.

Elliott Chase