Nowadays, trust is just as important – if not more important – than money. Especially in business relationships, trust plays an immensely important role. This makes reliable and high-quality services and products the go-to, even if they cost more. If a brand or company can build trust, it doesn’t have to have the cheapest offer on the market. It has legitimised itself by meeting the expectations of its customers. However, finding a trustworthy service provider is not that easy. One thing that can help choose a reliable service provider is certifications. One thing that can help choose a reliable service provider is certifications.
What are certifications?
A certification is a test seal from an official certification body (e.g. TÜV or DEKRA). There are certifications for almost all products and services. A well-known certification is ISO 9001, which evaluates the quality management of a company. There are also relevant certifications for professional translation firms and translation agencies: ISO 17100 and ISO 18587. They are awarded by independent bodies authorised to carry out audits.
Certifications for translation agencies: ISO 17100 and ISO 18587
ISO 17100:2015 (Translation services – Requirements for translation services) sets out requirements for the translation process, the four-eye principle procedure and the qualification of the translators used as well as other parties involved in the process. An expert auditor only awards the certificate to translation agencies that work in compliance with this norm and recertifies them on a regular basis.
ISO 18587:2017 (Translation services – Post-editing of machine translation output) regulates the translation process of machine translation and the qualifications of the post-editors used. Only highly experienced post-editors who have gone through a multi-stage evaluation process are allowed to work on machine-translated projects with full post-editing.
Registration ≠ certification
In addition to certification, translation service providers also have the option of registration. It is important to note, however, this is only a self-declaration to adhere to the quality processes. An official review does not take place and the risk lies with the client as to whether the processes are actually ISO-compliant or not. In Germany, for example, more than 200 translation agencies have registered to ISO 17100, but only 69 agencies have passed the official certification (source: tekom lecture “Die Normen ISO 17100 und ISO 18587 – Gemeinsamkeiten und Unvereinbarkeit in der Praxis” by Eva-Maria Tillmann, 04./11/2020). In fact, only eight service providers have ISO 17100 and ISO 18587 certification (as of October 2020, same source) – and one of them is COMLOGOS.
COMLOGOS as a certified partner
It is very important to COMLOGOS to have its processes audited regularly and to obtain the above-mentioned certifications. This is one way we can ensure that our translations are of outstanding quality. COMLOGOS has been certified according to DIN EN 15038 since 2010 (replaced by ISO 17100 in 2016) and according to ISO 18587 since 2021. Our clients appreciate our professionalism and the use of standardised processes. This means that they always receive consistently high quality and can be confident that they will receive the best possible service at all times. Do you trust us too? Then please feel free to contact us!
Still have questions?
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact our project managers at mail@comlogos.com.
