In the translation industry, too, processes are becoming increasingly complex and regulatory pressures more intense. A tight, consistent working method is essential to providing clients with high-quality translations and meeting legal requirements. That is why Scriptware has been certified according to ISO standard 17100 since 2016. And since June 2022, we have also been certified according to ISO standard 18587. What exactly does that mean?
At Scriptware Translations, we are certified to ISO standards 17100 and 18587. This means that all our translations must meet the highest quality standards. Do you need a top quality translation? Request a non-binding quote now.
ISO standards are so-called process standards: they provide a framework for the design of business processes. There are separate ISO standards for numerous industries and business types. There are also some general standards, which can be applied in any company. The standards are set by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, an alliance of national standardization organizations worldwide. Companies can choose whether to be certified according to one or more ISO standards. Certification occurs after a thorough audit by an independent certifying body. This audit is repeated periodically (once a year).
ISO standard 17100 was developed specifically for translation agencies. The standard covers all the relevant processes: the commercial process (from quotation phase to complaint handling), the production process (from pre-production to delivery), resource management, the IT processes, and so on. The standard includes a large number of requirements. For example, translators and reviewers must have certain qualifications, version management must be adequately regulated, and there are requirements for the security of customer data. The result is maximum assurance of timely and high-quality translations. An additional advantage for customers from highly regulated industries is the high degree of traceability offered by the standard: because everything within projects is recorded and stored in a structured manner, the cause of any problems can be easily traced.
ISO standard 18587 focuses on post-editing of texts translated with machine translation tools. The standard covers both the editing process itself and the requirements to be met by post-editors. Machine-translated texts post-edited according to the standard are close to human-translated texts in terms of quality, while having lower costs and higher throughput. For example, machine translation plus post-editing is well suited for Help topics, product descriptions and technical manuals. Scriptware has embedded the provisions of this standard in the company-wide processes prescribed by ISO standard 17100. All safeguards for data security and traceability, for example, therefore also apply to post-editing projects.
In recent years, we at Scriptware Translations have noticed how many advantages the self-imposed straitjacket of working according to ISO standards offers. For us as a company, but especially for our clients. That is why we are now working hard to also bring all of our processes in line with ISO standard 9001, which sets strict requirements for the quality management system. Of course, you will soon read more about this on our website.