What do translations and the fire brigade have in common?

My family and I recently attended an open day organised by our local volunteer fire brigade. Due to our location next to two motorways, the fire brigade is very well equipped with vehicles and tools, as well as personnel. I couldn’t help but marvel at the many lockers adorned with name tags in the changing room!

My daughter was most impressed by the bouncy castle and the demonstration of how to extinguish a hedge fire from the turntable ladder. She also enjoyed splashing around in the puddles afterwards, much to her mother’s despair.

I was particularly fascinated by the vehicles too. Such order! Such a logical, structured approach! What an overview!

Each tool has its own place, while everything is labelled. The tools, personal protective equipment and hoses are all neatly stowed and positioned in a way that makes it quick and easy to remove them from the vehicle for use. In the changing room, the trousers are already pulled over the boots to prevent the firefighters from getting their trouser legs tangled up when they have to quickly respond to a call. In the end, every second counts when it comes to saving people’s lives in an emergency. At the same time, the hoses are secured in such a way that they cannot unravel alone, but can be quickly released by hand when needed.

That’s efficiency! That’s living and breathing quality management! That’s risk management!

And what has this got to do with translations?

Translations represent the end product of complex knowledge management. In this process, the translator needs to observe the general rules of the target language regarding syntax, spelling and grammar, while making sure the content is communicated correctly, language conventions are followed, the target audience and purpose of the text are considered, style guides are adhered to and specific customer requests such as terminology or templates are complied with. This means translators and proofreaders require plenty of information to ensure they can perform their tasks properly.

A quality management system creates structure

A quality management system certified according to ISO 9001 establishes structure at a translation company. This sets up easy-to-follow processes that provide employees with peace of mind at work. Whether it’s instructions, termbases, sentence-based databases or any other reference material, translators can always access the information they need to work on a job – these are their tools, so to speak.

As in fire engines, files are clearly named, while correspondence and background information are well labelled. Translators and proofreaders receive feedback on their work and employees’ performance is regularly assessed, ensuring the right person is chosen for the next job.
All these measures help to improve efficiency and reduce the number of mistakes. In turn, this results in fewer costs, faster turnarounds and less risk. The result is a high-quality translation that successfully fulfils the customer’s requirements and wishes.

Special requirements for the medical field

These standardised processes are particularly important for translations in the medical field, which is one of Apostroph Germany’s main areas of expertise. The devil lies in the details, since a translation containing errors can put human lives at stake, just like in the fire brigade. Aware of this risk, we follow the ‘four-eyes principle’ – a process where every completed job is reviewed by a second translator – as per our certification to the ISO 17100 translation services standard. In other words, we pull the trousers over the boots. As with every other job, we use highly experienced translators and proofreaders, who are regularly assessed and continue to hone their skills based on this feedback.

We would be happy to advise you on how our quality management system helps ensure your translated texts meet target audience’s expectations in the languages you require.

Theresa Mansfield

Theresa loves making use of her languages – she speaks German, Spanish, French, English, Italian, Portuguese and Swedish – and spending time in other countries, South Africa being a favourite as she has family there. When she is not busy with quality management for the company, she uses her skills for her hobby, baking. Every now and again, the Bremen office gets to enjoy the results straight from the oven.
Theresa Mansfield