• guarantees that the characteristics of the product have been defined in such a way as to satisfy both client requirements, and statutory and regulatory requirements
• has defined and manages the processes necessary to achieve the expected results (compliant products and enhanced client satisfaction)
• monitors and keeps under control the defined characteristics of the product
• works to prevent non-conformities and adopts improvement measures designed to:
  1. solve any non-conformities that arise (including product non-conformities identified after delivery)
  2. analyse the causes of non-conformities and implement corrective actions to prevent their recurrence
  3. manage client claims
• has performed a thorough internal audit and management review
• is continuously monitoring, measuring and improving the efficacy of its quality management system

A translation service provider is a person or organisation that provides professional translation services.
The international quality standard ISO 17100:2015 sets out the requirements relating to all aspects of the translation process that directly influence the quality and supply of translation services;

• Resources. The standard sets out the professional qualifications and skills of translators, revisers (bilingual editors), reviewers (monolingual editors), project managers, etc., and requires proof that said skills are continuously maintained and updated.
• Processes and pre-production activities. The standard describes in detail the requirements for managing requests for quotes, feasibility studies and assessments, agreements between the client and translation company, client information inherent to the translation, administrative activities, technical aspects of preparing projects, language specifications and other relevant factors.
• Production process. The different stages of the production process are discussed: management of the translation service project, translation of the document and checking by a professional translator, in-depth revision by a second linguist (bilingual editing), review (monolingual editing by an industry expert) and the correction of drafts or \“proofreading\” (revision of content in target language and corrections before going to print) in cases where the client requests one of these two added-value services, in addition to the final check and delivery of the translation by a qualified project manager.
• Post-production processes. Unlike UNE EN 15038, the ISO 17100 quality standard highlights the importance of interaction with the client in the initial translation services agreement, which contains all the distinguishing characteristics of the project, and in managing any changes, claims, feedback, client satisfaction assessments and closure of the administrative procedures.

Translation + independent revision (bilingual editing)

Similarly to the previous UNE EN-15038 quality standard, the most important aspect of the ISO 17100 quality standard is the definition of the translation process, wherein translation in its strictest sense is just one part of the process and does not guarantee quality unless a revision is carried out by a second translator. The standard also clearly defines the professional skills of each participant in the translation process, namely translators, revisers and project managers.

The necessary translator skills defined in the ISO 17100 standard include competence in translation, textual and linguistic competence in both the source and target languages, competence in research, in the acquisition of information and its elaboration, cultural competence, technical and sector-based competence.

All ISO 17100:2015 certified translation services must include translation and revision (bilingual editing) as a minimum.

• Translation. A translator having the necessary skills will translate documents and at the end of the initial translation, will check their own work.
• Revision (bilingual editing). A person other than the translator revises the translation. The standard defines the revision as a bilingual analysis of the target language content against the source language content in order to determine its suitability for the agreed purpose;

Professional skills of translators and revisers

The quality standard obliges the translation company to work exclusively with translators able to provide documented proof of their conformity with at least one of the following criteria:

• A recognised educational qualification in translation, issued by a higher education institution;
• A recognised educational qualification in any other field, issued by a higher education institution plus two years of professional experience working full-time in the translation industry;
• Five years of professional experience working full-time in the translation industry.

Educational qualifications in Translation are referred to differently in various countries; they may be for example, Language studies, Modern languages, etc.

Revisers or bilingual editors, in addition to satisfying one of the three aforementioned criteria, must also have experience in translation or revision in the specialist field in which they revise.

Thanks to the code of ethics, each person involved, from the remote translators to the agency executives, can behave in accordance with strict company guidelines, without fear of making mistakes or damaging the client and/or the agency’s image.

We are the first company in Italy to have drawn up this type of regulation, and we are very proud to have made this choice.

What does ethics mean?

Generally speaking, ethics can be considered behaviour guided by the desire to achieve virtuous goals together with others, without taking advantage of anyone. The principles inspiring our code of ethics are: honesty, integrity, transparency, and innovation.

Creating a healthy work relationship is essential in developing fruitful and long-lasting relationships with all, clients and suppliers alike.
We firmly believe that fairness on the part of all is essential in building an ever-stronger corporate identity.