Demystifying ISO 17100:2015 and ISO 18587:2017
When you’re looking for a reliable language services provider, you typically have options. However, companies and individuals seeking accurate translations are often better served by choosing a provider that follows ISO standards.
While ISO standards aren’t mandatory to follow, language service providers that choose to remain compliant offer a high-quality experience. ISO standards include best practices and guidelines designed to ensure that providers produce top-tier translations. By remaining compliant, you know that the provider you’ve chosen is offering a high-quality service.
If you’d like to find out more about ISO standards in general, as well as an overview of those impacting the interpretation and translation industry, please see ISO for Interpretation and Translation Services – What It Is and Why It Matters. If you would like a more in-depth understanding of ISO 17100:2015 and ISO 18587:2017 and how they impact translation services, here’s what you need to know.
Understanding ISO 17100:2015 – Requirements for Translation Services
ISO 17100:2015 is a standard that is designed to ensure the quality of translation services. It’s a fairly broad set of best practices, covering how processes are managed, minimum qualifications, resource availability and management, and other points that ensure high-quality results.
Within ISO 17100 is guidance regarding the people behind translation services. It discusses the role of translators, proofreaders, reviewers, revisers, and project managers. Additionally, it outlines minimum qualifications for those who handle various parts of the translation process, aiming to ensure the appropriate level of competency. ISO 17100 contains guidance regarding the use of technology and technical resources, as well.
There is also an overview of the translation process in ISO 17100, including the various steps providers should take while translating documents. Most of the requirements or recommendations are designed to ensure the accuracy and reliability of outputs. For example, a review by a second person is considered mandatory within ISO 17100.
ISO 17100 also addresses issues of privacy and proper information handling. Since those who translate documents may be privy to sensitive information, those best practices aim to ensure that translators, reviewers, proofreaders, and anyone else involved in the translation process takes the proper care and that any related data is appropriately protected.
There’s even a section in ISO 17100 that covers the management of client feedback after a translation is complete. The best practices in this segment aim to ensure client satisfaction by confirming the results meet their needs and taking corrective action swiftly if an issue occurs.
Understanding ISO 18587:2017 – Post-Editing of Machine Translation Output
ISO 18587:2017 also covers best practices relating to translations. However, it specifically focuses on the post-editing of machine translations.
While many companies and individuals assume that machine translation is reasonably on-point, it often leaves a bit to be desired when it comes to accuracy. Post-editing of machine translation outputs aims to correct any issues that occur within those kinds of translations.
Within ISO 18587 are guidelines designed to ensure the quality of those post-editing services. It distinguishes between two service types – full post-editing and light post-editing – and defines expectations for each level.
Generally, full post-editing is the highest quality tier, aiming for the same highly accurate results as a client would get using a skilled translation service from the beginning. Light post-editing is defined as simply turning the machine translation output into something understandable.
Additionally, ISO 18587 outlines the qualifications for anyone involved in the post-editing process. Largely, the minimum requirements are aligned with those assigned to translation professionals, ensuring those participating in the post-editing process have the required degree of fluency.
However, there is also a discussion on additional training. Since those handling the post-editing of machine translations need to understand how those systems handle input and generate output, ISO 18587 includes information about proper training in the related technologies and tools. That way, they can interact with machine translation applications correctly and know the kinds of errors that tend to occur, making spots that need editing easier to identify.
Do You Need Dependable Translators or Other Language Services?
When companies or individuals need high-quality, reliable language services, going with an experienced provider that follows ISO standards relating to translation is often best. You can rest assured that you’ll receive the top-notch results right when you need them.
If you need a professional translator for any purpose, Acutrans can help. Acutrans can supply certified document translations – including medical and legal documentation – within 24 hours.
Acutrans also offers high-quality interpretation services. Whether you need on-site, over-the-phone, or video remote interpretation services, either for general purposes or in specialty areas like legal and medical, Acutrans is a dependable resource.
The Acutrans team prides itself in offering a fast, reliable, and professional solution to companies and individuals alike. If you need translation or interpretation support, contact us for a free quote today.