Director of Procurement Diane J. Shea urges all departments, offices, laboratories and research centers to order critical supplies now to ensure a smooth transition over the Y2K weekend.
"The last week of the year is a short work week and many people have vacations planned," Ms. Shea told the Y2K Partners Meeting on October 20. "If Procurement is inundated with last-minute orders, the staff may not be able to handle all requests. Instead, consider existing blanket purchase orders or paying with the MIT VIP Visa card."
Examples of critical supplies include gases, chemicals, copier supplies, toner for printers and paper. "Consider lead time when ordering," Ms. Shea said.
The Procurement and Safety Offices will review chemical orders "considered to be excessive," she said, and Safety Office approval is needed on propane orders.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 27, 1999.