LINGUAVOX TRIPLE TRANSLATION QUALITY GUARANTEE
When we deal with the difficult task of translating a text from one language into another, a recurrent term that pops up is quality. And precisely quality is something that lies at the center of LinguaVox’s target when satisfying its clients’ needs for translation.
This issue is materialized in the deployment of a triple quality guarantee scheme that prevails all through its translation management process, from the moment a translation quote comes in –either by email, fax, telephone or even personally-, through the process of translating in itself, until the final delivery of the translation to the customer.
This triple translation quality guarantee that has been just mentioned is focused on three main fields of action and systems: the ISO 9001 quality standard, the ISO 17100 international quality standard and internal quality controls carried out by highly-experienced Project Managers who possess a degree in translation and a vast experience in the translation field.
- 1. ISO 9001 Certified Quality Management System
Let us begin with the ISO 9001:2008 standard. This quality standard accounts for the well-organized management system LinguaVox, S.L. has in place. Thanks to this strict quality management system, Project Managers, freelancers and, most importantly, our customers, find it easy to follow up information on the progress and status of their orders and can find any file, identify the linguist who performed a job or even ask for a second copy of a text to be delivered again, in a quick and fast way. On top of that, the quality management system is respectful with the environment, since the printing of material as hard copies is kept to the minimum, thus saving the lives of many trees in the long run and helping to keep pollution levels down.
- 2. ISO 17100 Certified Translation Service
The second step towards unbeatable quality in the triple quality guarantee process is embodied in the European standard that is specific to the translation field, namely, the ISO 17100:2016 standard, which LinguaVox has been awarded.
On April 13th 2006 the European Committee for Standardization made a step forward for a field that usually has been considered as a “lost cause” and in which many were the actors who played the role of intruders (one needed to know some basic English in order to start up translating professionally). On that date, the EN-15038 standard was approved by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and was officially published in May 2006.
The main and most important points that this standard sets forward are, firstly, that it defines the translation process, where quality is guaranteed no by the translation –which is just one phase in the process, but by the fact of the translation being revised by a person other than the translator, and secondly, the standard specifies the professional competences of each of the participants in the translation process (translators, revisers, reviewer and proofreaders).
The EN-15038 standard establishes that every and all translation services must include, at least, translation and revision. These two concepts can be defined as follows:
Translation: a translator with the appropriate competences translates a document and, once s/he is done with it, s/he checks his/her own work (checking).
Revision: a person, other than the translator, revises the translation carried out by the translator. The standard defines revision as “examining a translation for its suitability for the agreed purpose, comparing the source and target texts, and recommending corrective measures.”
Further to this requirement, there are specific criteria that translators and revisers must meet in order to take part in projects under the EN-15038:2006 standard. These criteria refer to the professional competences they must show, which are as follows:
In the case of translators, they must meet at least one of these criteria:
- Advanced university translation studies (recognized qualification)
- Equivalent university qualification in another specialization plus a minimum of two years documented experience in translation.
- At least five years of documented professional experience in translation.
In the case of revisers, they must also have translation experience of the subject in question.
A customer may also contract other services as part of the translation process such as review, proofreading (checking proofs before publishing), also contemplated in the standard, and other added value services such as sworn translation, terminological database creation and management, desktop publishing services, etc.
A reviewer is a subject matter expert who examines the target text “for its suitability for the agreed purpose and respect for the conventions of the domain to which it belongs and recommends corrective measures.” If a client contracts a review of a medical translation from English into German, the reviewer would be a German medical doctor.
- 3. Quality control by our senior Project Managers with higher university studies in Translation and more than 8 years full-time in-house experience in translation project management
Finally, the last straw in the triple translation quality guarantee process is the professional and human capital that is hired at the European and US offices LinguaVox has. Once all the tasks included in the quality process described above are fully completed, it is LinguaVox’s Project Managers turn again. Thanks to a thorough follow-up of all the translation process stages, the senior project manager assigned to our client’s translation assignment spots any potential problematic area that may arise, ensures that the source texts have been fully translated, that both the translator and the reviser have checked the target text in terms of grammar and spelling, that the files’ format of the source texts has been reproduced in the target texts, and carry out the final quality control of the translations before delivery to the client.
They can achieve this easily thanks to their higher university studies in translation and interpreting, their experience –higher than 8 years- working in our offices for clients in the USA, UK, France, Italy, Germany, etc. You can see our project managers’ professional profile in About us à The Team.
Once the target texts have the green light, they are delivered to the customers, on the date, time and through the means agreed upon (email, FTP, certified letter, etc…).
LinguaVox® – Your Trusted Language Partner – We give you our word, in any language.
ISO 9001 Certified System - International standard for quality management.
ISO 17100 Certified Translation services company - International standard specific for the translation industry.
Internal quality control by a dedicated senior project manager - a linguist and translator with over 5 years of experience working in our translation agency for clients in the USA, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, etc.