Many European translation companies have long felt the need for a reliable method of demonstrating the quality of the services they provide to their customers.
This standard is gaining acceptance worldwide and the European Union has begun including it as a benchmark in its tender specifications.
In 1999 the EUATC (European Union of Associations of Translation Companies) saw the need to develop an industry specific quality standard.
The following are some of the terms which are defined in the standard: The EN 15038 standard set out the: The appendices provide additional information on project registration, technical pre-translation process, source text analysis, style guides and a non exhaustive list of added value services.
[1] This section outlines the level of competence required by translators and others working on the project, the need for the right technology and communication equipment and the need for a documented quality management system.
These include: This section of the standard is divided in three subsections which deal with Project Management, Preparation and Translation.
The EN 15038 standard not only introduced requirements for compliance with certain common procedures, as is the case with ISO 9001, but also monitors the processes especially developed for the overall execution of the translation – from acceptance of the order to delivery.