Slide1: Practical aspects of the EN 15038:2006 implementation and certification Andrzej Nedoma, Jurek Nedoma, Grzegorz Baster Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide2: Bled, Slovenia – May 2007 The EN 15038:2006 standard versus other standards Present state of the EN 15038:2006 certification procedures throughout Europe 3. The EN 15038:2006 standard versus ISO 9001:2000 certification 4. Complementary character of EN 15038:2006 compared to ISO 9001:2000 5. Benefits for translation agencies that are EN / ISO certified 6. Are the EULOGIAns prepared to implement the EN 15038:2006 system? 7. What is needed to pass the certification audit that is performed by an external auditor? 8. How to arrange the preparation without producing tons of waste paper and without investing too much time? 9. How much does it cost?


Slide3: Standards focused on the target text quality SAE J2450 – Society of Automotive Engineers LISA QA Model – Localization Industry Standard Association ATA Accreditation / Certification Program – American Translators Association GB/T 19682-2005 – 翻译服务译文质量要求 – Target text quality requirements for translation services Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide4: Standards focused on service requirements (probably the base for the future ISO standard) ASTM F2575-06 – Standard Guide for Quality Assurance in Translation GB/T 19363.1-2003 – 翻译服务规范 第1部分:笔译 – Specification for translation service – Part 1: Translation. EN 15038:2006 – Translation services – service requirements Only in the EN 15038:2006: Conformity assessment and certification based on this standard are envisaged Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide5: Legal base – standard approval The European standard EN 15038:2006, prepared by the Technical Committee CEN/BT/TF 138 „Translations services”, was formally approved by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) on 13. April 2006 in three official versions (English, French and German) as: „Translation services – service requirements”; „Services de traduction – Exigences requises pour la prestation du service”; „Übersetzungs-Dienstleistungen – Dienstleistungs-anforderungen”, respectively. Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide6: Versions in any other languages translated under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the Central Secretariat have the same status as the official versions. Withdrawal of conflicting national standards Conflicting national standards had to be withdrawn at the latest by November 2006. This relates e.g. to: the Italian UNI 10547:1996 – Definizione dei servizi e delle attività delle imprese di traduzione ed interpretariato, the Dutch – ATA Taalmerk (1997), the German DIN 2345:1998 – Übersetzungsaufträge, and the Austrian ÖNORM D 1200:2000 – Dienstleistungen – Übersetzen und Dolmetschen – Übersetzungsleistungen – Anforderungen an die Dienstleistung und an die Bereitstellung der Dienstleistung and ÖNORM D 1201:2000 – Dienstleistungen – Übersetzen und Dolmetschen – Übersetzungsleistungen – Übersetzungsverträge. Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide7: Members of CEN /CENELEC obliged to adopt the EN 15038:2006 standard In total 29 countries: 26 EU countries (i.e. without Bulgaria) + Iceland + Norway + Switzerland Bled, Slovenia – May 2007 Austria Belgium Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Iceland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Sweden Switzerland Slovakia Slovenia Spain United Kingdom


Slide8: The observance of EN 15038:2006 standard regulations is voluntary Formally the Translation Service Providers (TSP) are not obliged to implement the standard. However, individuals (freelancers) or organizations (translation agencies) providing translation services can implement the standard by a fully voluntary decision. Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide9: Ways to inform the market players about the fact, that the TSP decided to follow the EN 15038:2006 standard regulations Self-declaration Self-declaration registered by DIN CERTCO Certification by an independent third party (the accredited certifying body) Misleading announcements Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide10: Meaning of the term „accreditation” general - accreditation of the certifying body specific - accreditation to the defined standard Present offer for translation agencies EN 15038:2006 standard „non-accredited certification” performed by the accredited certifying body Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide11: The first EN 15038:2006 certified translation companies in Europe Glossima & Wehrheim, Thessaloniki, Greece certification body: EUROCERT SA, Athens, Greece accredited by the Εθνικό Σύστημα Διαπίστευσης A.E., Hellenic Accreditation Council (ESYD) Interlingua Language Services GmbH, Vienna, Austria certifying body - Österreichisches Normungsinstitut (the Austrian Standards Institute) accredited by the accreditation body at the Bundesministerium fuer Wirtschaft und Arbeit (Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour), Vienna, Austria Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide12: EN 1538:2006 certificates issued for LIDO-LANG in English ----------- and in Polish ---------- Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide13: The main certifying bodies offering EN 15038:2006 certification in Europe Bureau Veritas Greece – in co-operation with the Πανελλήνιος Σύνδεσμος Μεταφραστικών Επιχειρήσεων (Hellenic Association of Translation Companies – HATC) United Kingdom – in co-operation with the Association of Translation Companies ATC Spain – in co-operation with the Agrupación de Centros especializados en Traducción (Spanish Association of Translation Companies – ACT) Poland – in co-operation with the Polskie Stowarzyszenie Biur Tłumaczeń (Polish Association of Translation Agencies – PSBT) Sweden – on individual initiative of the applicant Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide14: The main certifying bodies offering EN 15038:2006 certification in Europe National standard institutes Austria – Österreichisches Normungsinstitut (ÖN) - in co-operation with the WKO Fachverband Druck Arbeitskreis Sprachdienstleister France – Association Française de Normalisation AFNOR – in co-operation with the Chambre Nationales des Enterprises de Traduction CNET Finland - Suomen Standardisoimisliitto SFS ry and its certification body – Inspecta Sertifiointi Oy - in co-operation with Suomen Käännöstoimistojen Liitto SKTOL Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide15: The main certifying bodies offering EN 15038:2006 certification in Europe National standard institutes (continued) Italy – Organismo di Normazione e Formazione nel Commercio, Turismo e Servizi UNITER – in co-operation with the Federazione Nazionale Centri di Traduzione e Interpretariato FEDER.CEN.TR.I Germany – Technischer Überwachungsverein TÜV Süd - in co-operation with the Qualitäts-Sprachendienste Deutschlands QSD Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide16: The ISO 9001:2000 standard is not addressed to any specific branch of industry or services. It is a general regulation that is valid for any branch. To the contrary – the EN 15038:2006 standard is addressed specifically to translation service providers. EN 15038:2006 does not require the implementation of the ISO 9001:2000 quality management system. Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide17: It is required by the EN 15038:2006 standard to have a “quality management system in place that is commensurate with the size and organisational structure of the TSP”. Of course, the quality management system implemented and certified according to the ISO 9001:2000 standard, which is commonly known and reputable – meets the requirement of the quoted Clause 3.4 of EN 15038:2006. Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide18: There are two fundamental reasons. The first – to differentiate ourselves from other competitors; the second – to improve our own mode of operation [Source: An Italian consulting company] Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide19: Short-term benefits: refreshing and rejuvenating effect of gap analysis as a critical review of the present organisation; source of new ideas for improvement going beyond the standard; confirmation for the staff as well as for customers that the agency meets the requirements formulated by the translation experts across Europe. [Source: Cox, Chris: The Translation Service Provider’s Guide to BS EN 15038 ed. BSI Business Information (2006) ] Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide20: Long-term benefits: after full implementation, the standard delivers a “fitness for purpose” platform and a starting point for further development; right to advertise the agency’s expertise, supporting confidence in rendered services especially within customer relations that are conducted via the Internet, only possibility to use the requirements of the standard when formulating safe contract conditions; [Source: Cox, Chris: The Translation Service Provider’s Guide to BS EN 15038 ed. BSI Business Information (2006) ] Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide21: Long-term benefits (continued): clear formulation of the customer’s special requirements that are contradictory to the code of best practice; attaining the status of “due diligence” in the case of any defence in a court action; the ability to add further standards and other national and inter-national specifications, e.g. ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14000:2000, etc. possibility to use the standard in all trading operations of the agency. [Source: Cox, Chris: The Translation Service Provider’s Guide to BS EN 15038 ed. BSI Business Information (2006) ] Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide22: YES! All of the members of our consortium are significant players on the local and international markets for translation services The EULOGIA website presentation states that our companies “[…] provide innovative multilingual solutions […] and […] translation services of optimum quality”. Some EULOGIA members actively participated in commenting on the draft (prEN 15038:2004) In general, no clause of the new standard will be surprising for us One decisive condition that is inevitable: a consciousness of the top management of the company Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide23: Each certifying body has its own procedures for applicants. The following steps are common for all these certifying bodies. Bled, Slovenia – May 2007 Purchase a legal copy of the standard (the national or the international version of EN 15038:2006) Analyse thoroughly the entire standard, individually or with a consultant’s help Standards are subject to copyright protection. Therefore any copying of the standard is illegal. It is necessary to distinguish clearly the difference between “shall” and “should” clauses – i.e. obligations and recommendations, respectively


Slide24: Bled, Slovenia – May 2007 Elaborate the gap analysis, i.e. define what is missing in order to satisfy the standard requirements, individually or with a consultant’s help. Solve the problems realised during the gap analysis, eliminate discrepancies with standard requirements, amend the existing methods of operation. This is the crucial element of the process. Without proper knowledge of the gaps, the implemented system will not be approved by the external auditor. Therefore, contracting a consultant seems to be very helpful, time-saving, and much safer. “Translate” the existing methods of operation into the “language” of standard requirements, amending them if required by the standard.


Slide25: Bled, Slovenia – May 2007 Edit the written procedures required by the standard, exactly corresponding with the company’s internal modes of operation and fulfilling the standard requirements. Select a certifying body. Hiring a consultant for this step is time-saving and avoids the unnecessary, excessively strict, written formulation of self-obligations, which are not required by the standard. Copying the procedures and quality manual is not recommended because each company has its own, internal habits and there appears a risk that the auditor can realise that the “copied procedures” are not followed. The auditors should be reliable partners, understanding the specific character of this branch.


Slide26: Bled, Slovenia – May 2007 Pass successfully the certification audit performed in translation agency office Deliver the system documentation to the certifying body for their in-house review. Conclude a contract with the chosen certifying body. On request. Participation of a consultant (on TSP’s behalf) during the certification audit is very useful because any negative auditor’s observations can be quickly and professionally commented on by the consultant, who uses the same “standardisation language”.


Slide27: Reasons, why hiring a consultant is beneficial Excellent knowledge of the requirements and recommendations of the standard Knowledge of the external auditor’s expectations and behaviour Ability to formulate the procedures and other required documents combining the applicant’s present customs with strict clauses of the standard Ability to limit the applicant’s obligations to the minimum required by the standard Ability to speak the external auditor’s „certification slang” Experience in selecting the optimal certifying body Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide28: Criteria for selecting the certifying body: Bled, Slovenia – May 2007 General terms of certification (how many man-days of audits per year; how often is the re-assessment) Reputation of the certifying body. Experience in the field of translation services (i.e. their auditors should be reliable partners, understanding the specific character of this branch). The auditors should understand the specific character of this branch – in order to avoid unnecessary discussions with non-professionals. Experienced customers know the reputation of the different bodies rendering certification services. Overall cost (certification audit, annual surveillance audit(s), re-assessment audit, travel, accommodation, etc.)


Slide29: Follow the approach that is common in the case of the implementation of quality management systems that are ISO 9001:2000 standard certified. The best solution for a translation office aiming at the implementation of a management system concordant with the EN 15038:2006 standard is to use the services of a consulting company, which is specialised in certification procedures. These professionals are able to suggest the formulation of “some 21 procedures” (mentioned by Chris Cox) that are useful for the company, which in turn satisfies the auditor’s expectations. Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide30: It is important for the procedures to describe your real processes, customs, and behaviours of your employees in order to avoid any “revolutionary changes” caused by the non-controlled implementation of the standard requirements. In our own case, thanks to the implementation of the XTRF management system as well as using the consulting services of EUTECert Co. Ltd., the EN 15038:2006 certification did not take more than 4 weeks. Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide31: A similar package of certification services – covering the full cycle starting from the certification audit, issuance of the certificate, two mid-audits (12 and 24 months after receiving the certificate, and the re-assessment audit at the end of this 3-year period – is offered by the European certification bodies for rather varied rates, up to a fourfold variance. In addition – the preliminary preparations of the applicant agency should be taken into consideration. Most probably the companies that are experienced in the ISO 9001:2000 quality management system are able to prepare themselves without any external assistance (although it must also take some time for the ISO representative to perform the gap analysis and formulation of the necessary procedures). Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide32: This must be calculated individually. It might happen that the services of a consulting agency are less expensive than the cost of an in-house ISO representative. In the case of newcomers, we strongly recommend employing a consultant. This solution will save them a lot of time and money. Moreover, the rates of the consulting bodies are rather differentiated. In certain countries, the full cycle of consulting services aimed at ISO 9001:2000 certification costs a shocking € 15,000 – 20,000. In other countries – four- to fivefold lower costs are sufficient for equally reliable and efficient consulting services. Bled, Slovenia – May 2007


Slide33: Thanks for your kind attention! www.eutecert.eu www.lidolang.com Bled, Slovenia – May 2007