It’s official: GlobalSprachTeam has secured two certifications and is now officially at the forefront of modern translation service provision. In accordance with the industry standards DIN ISO 17100 and 18587, our processes and quality assurance protocols were carefully examined and, in the end, rewarded with two certifications. Keep reading to find out what this all means!

 

The goal of certification

GlobalSprachTeam has been synonymous with first-class professional translations and language services for over 30 years. As such, it was only logical that we would strive to achieve official certification. But from the start, we understood that having our quality and competencies formally recognized would be no easy task. After all, the process meant documenting and structuring decades of experience in such a way that our knowledge and skills would be obvious to the auditor.

We set our sights on two standards: DIN ISO 17100 and DIN ISO 18587. The former relates to a translation provider’s company-internal processes. The certification process involves a close look at all of the steps that constitute the successful processing of a translation order as well as at the fundamental structure of the translation provider. The second standard, DIN ISO 18587, is more specific and concerns the post-editing of machine translations. It focuses on the ability of a translation provider to edit a machine translation such that it is on par with human translations.

 

The certification process

As is obvious from our name, we’re a team. For that reason, we immediately knew that the certification process would be a team effort. The documentation of our work processes and internal structures led to the creation of a company handbook over 120 pages in length. All of our team members worked on it; for the processes described in the handbook, team members wrote individual chapters based on their individual areas of expertise.

While compiling this document, we also had the opportunity to streamline and adjust our systems. We completed external and internal continuing education courses and seminars in order to further improve our capabilities. Thanks to this work, our bond as a team became even stronger and we gained more confidence in our abilities.

When the time finally came, an auditor spent an entire day at our office. He watched us work and asked detailed questions about all of our processes. By observing our day-to-day work, he was able to compare our actual work steps with the contents of our handbook. At the end of this strenuous day, the auditor gave us the wonderful news: GlobalSprachTeam is now certified according to both standards!

 

Scope of the certifications

Our certification in accordance with the industry standard DIN ISO 17100 means:

• Our working processes are standardized and documented
• All of our work steps are subject to rigorous quality control
• Everyone who works on an order is highly qualified
• The translation and revision processes are carried out using modern CAT tools

 

Our certification in accordance with the industry standard DIN ISO 18587 means:

• We process post-editing orders using detailed and standardized processes
• Pre-editing, machine translation generation, and post-editing are all performed by qualified translation professionals
• Our team participates in inhouse and external courses and seminars in order to continuously improve their skills

 

So we’re certified. Now what?

Now, the big question is: What will change due to the certifications? With our certification according to DIN ISO 17100, our clients can expect even more consistent results, because, thanks to the certification process, we have managed to collect, update, and document our over three decades of knowledge. Our working processes are unified and state of the art.

Now that we are certified according to DIN ISO 18587, we will be offering a new service: Starting now, GlobalSprachTeam provides post-editing services! However, it is important to understand that this is in no way a replacement for our traditional translation services. Rather, this is an additional service which is suitable in very specific situations. It is therefore extremely important to us that we begin with a detailed consultation with the client to determine if post-editing is right for them. But with our certification, clients can rest assured that we have all the skills necessary to ensure that the result is on par with a human translation!

 

Our double certification shows that we at GlobalSprachTeam provide premium translation services in accordance with the highest industry standards. However, we also know that excellence is an ongoing process. For that reason, we remain in constant pursuit of ways to improve our work and offer our clients the very best service possible!

 

(O.M., 2022)

 

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