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GeaSpeak

ISO STANDARDS: THE ROADMAP TO QUALITY AND TRUST

By GeaSpeak Team | 2023-11-21
ISO STANDARDS: THE ROADMAP TO QUALITY AND TRUST

In a globally connected world, consistency and quality are paramount. This is where the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) steps in. Established in 1947 in London, ISO set out to create standards that would facilitate international trade, foster innovation, and ensure the quality and safety of products and services across borders.

In this article, we will explore the significance of ISO certifications, specifically focusing on the translation-related standards. Furthermore, we’ll delve into our certification process and why ISO certification is a game-changer for businesses.

ISO Standards and their Importance

When it comes to international standards, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) stands as the authority. ISO is a non-governmental organization that provides a framework for organizations to follow in various domains. The adoption of ISO standards is crucial for companies, including LSPs, looking to excel in the global market.

ISO is a global network of national standards bodies: it is composed of 169 members. Each participating body is the primary standards authority in its respective country, and only one such member is designated per country.

The importance of ISO standards lies in the fact that they provide a framework for organizations to ensure the quality and consistency of their products, services, and processes. This helps to deliver reliable and high-quality results, which is crucial for customer satisfaction and safety.

The Most Widely Recognized ISO Standards

ISO standards

Above all, ISO 9001 is often hailed as the gold standard of quality management. This certification focuses on quality management systems, allowing organizations to ensure their products and services consistently meet customer requirements. It is applicable to businesses of all sizes and industries, making it one of the most widely recognized ISO standards globally.

When it comes to the world of translation, ISO standards play a pivotal role. ISO 17100:2015, specifically designed for translation services, ensures that providers deliver high-quality by setting specific requirements for personnel, processes, and resources. This standard ensures that translated content maintains the highest quality, consistency, and correctness.

Moreover, with the growing use of machine translation and artificial intelligence in the translation industry, ISO 18587:2017 has become increasingly relevant. It provides guidelines for the post-editing of machine translation output, ensuring that the final translated content meets quality and precision standards. Also, it offers the reassurance that machine-translated content has been professionally reviewed and edited, guaranteeing its suitability for the intended purpose.

The Certification Process

Obtaining ISO certification is no small feat. Companies undergo rigorous assessments, performed by accredited national standards bodies. These assessments scrutinize every aspect of an organization’s operations to ensure compliance with the specific ISO standard. In the case of Argentina, the Argentine Standardization and Certification Institute (IRAM) is the representative of ISO for the country.

Argentine Standardization and Certification Institute (IRAM)

The relevance of ISO certification cannot be overstated. It not only demonstrates a company’s commitment to quality and excellence but also builds trust with clients. Many clients seek out ISO-certified suppliers, as it gives them confidence in the products or services they will receive. Additionally, ISO certification can enhance operational efficiency and improve customer satisfaction, which can ultimately lead to cost savings and increased competitiveness.

Our ISO Journey

GeaSpeak® is an ISO 17100 and ISO 18587-certified Language Service Provider.

At GeaSpeak, our ISO certification assessment period has proven to be a highly rewarding experience. While some may perceive ISO standards as a matter of merely formalizing and certifying existing processes, we have discovered that ISO guidance has played a pivotal role in enhancing our internal management, quality assurance, and verification procedures. It has also facilitated the development and implementation of novel methods to ensure optimal management practices and superior translation quality.

Another invaluable insight gained on this certification journey is that ISO standards are more adaptable than they might initially appear. They can be customized to fit the unique realities of businesses seeking certification, provided that the essential spirit of the standard is maintained and endorsed by the certifying institution. In our specific case, there were segments of the 17100 and 18587 ISO standards tailored for large Multi-Language Vendors, which were not relevant to us, as they pertained to processes typically executed between the MLV and the client, a part of the workflow seldom accessible to smaller businesses. In such instances, these processes can be excluded from the certification assessment, given that the business does not handle that particular aspect of the workflow.

Improvement of practices

To provide a concrete illustration, some of the best practices that our certification journey has allowed us to integrate into our daily operations include:

  1. Maintaining up-to-date CVs and training records for our team of freelancers.
  2. Creating performance review sheets for the purpose of assessments and record-keeping.
  3. Enhancing the record-keeping process for information related to the linguists responsible for a given project.
  4. Developing a non-conformity sheet for our internal team to identify areas for improvement.
  5. Crafting our own Post-Editing Guide to inform linguists about the task’s scope, common pitfalls, and other best practices.

These are just a few examples of the positive changes that ISO standards have enabled us to implement. ISO standards have served as a valuable lens through which we can examine our business, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and allowing us to refine and solidify our processes. In summary, this journey has been a rewarding experience for our company and our team.