ISO 17100 Certification

With the transition of EN 15038 to ISO 17100 recently, we see it even more crucial for our company to be certified officially for this international standard that controls processes in a translation company to achieve a consistent and industry-approved standard.

In 2016, Lingua Technologies International became the first translation and localization company in the South-East Asia region to be certified with ISO 17100.

Other than defining terms and concepts related to the translation process and outlining its workflow, ISO 17100 also specifies the requirements for all parties involved in the process to possess certain competencies and qualifications. The following steps commonly applied by a Translation Service Provider in the translation process are of relevance to the international standard:

• Translation – Other than translating to its purpose, the translator also has to perform an overall check of his own work
• Editing – This is done by a separate qualified translator or an editor by performing a bilingual examination of the source and target language content for any errors and other issues
• Proofreading – A final monolingual proofread and application of corrections to ensure the flow of content between paragraphs and its suitability for the agreed purpose
• QA and Final Verification – A systematic QA process conducted by the trained Project Manager to confirm that all specifications of the project are met
• Review/Validation – The review includes assessing domain accuracy and applying specific terminologies (if not already provided at the start of the translation phase) or stylistic changes by the reviewer, usually provided as a form of feedback by the client

HOW DOES THIS CERTIFICATION BENEFIT YOU AS A CLIENT?

The ISO 17100:2015 expresses clearly what you will expect as a customer seeking translation services as it assures translation services being consistently fit for purpose by its provisions. An intangible service like translation is an art itself so its quality can sometimes be debatable.

How do you really judge one’s work? Like any other paid service, you may have doubts whether what you’re getting is of a publish quality. You will try to request proof of translators’ qualifications, existing samples or portfolio of the company in order to justify your decision on a certain translation provider.

Now that there is an international standard ISO 17100:2015 for translation services, it makes it a lot easier to know that you are buying translation from the right translation company by choosing the provider that is already certified.

Possessing the relevant standard like ISO 17100 says a lot about the company’s involvement and calibre in the field. Comparing with other companies who claim to have a wealth of experience but without the relevant certification, who will make a more credible choice now?

Here’s an overview of how you may benefit from the standard:

Given the subjective nature of translation, the quality of translation is very much being disputed as well. However, because of the availability of ISO 17100 certification, there is a much higher probability that:

• The quality of the translation will be higher as there will be a lower margin of error, given that the Translation and Revision phases being handled by different parties
• Quality assurance will be present as only qualified linguists and project managers will handle the translation
• Source texts and their translation will be provided with confidentiality assurance, which denies any unauthorized access
• Only correct and approved technical terminology will be used

With the higher quality of translation being an essential guarantee, it is extremely important that a certified translation company must comply with the stringent requirements of the ISO 17100 standard.

When you work with us, the assurance we can provide, through our ISO 17100 certification, is that your translation projects will be going through a globally approved process, handled and looked after at all points with the final high-quality deliverables in mind. Thus giving you peace of mind.

Contact us now at +65 6570 0138 or fill up our web inquiry form immediately. Experience the LTI experience, the ISO 17100 way!