Certification—EN 15038

The European Committee for Standards (CEN - www.cenorm.be) released the EN 15038, a specification that defines translation quality and normalises procedures and translation processes for delivering language services in Europe.

When EN 15038 is implemented by translation service providers (TSPs), CEN hopes that its work will help TSPs differentiate themselves on the basis of formal processes - and thus help buyers of their services make better purchase decisions.

The EN 15038 was preceded by ISO 9001; a standard rather controversial. In the future, the European EN 15038 Standard, the American ASTM standard and the Chinese standard will merge into a unique ISO standard.

The pan-European standard today defines translation services, outlines the competencies a translator and reviser must have, and describes quality controls. The EN 15038 standard is gradually being adopted in 28 CEN members' countries.

As an outcome to this, various national consulting organizations certified by CEN are providing certification programmes to comply with the norm.

Future development in standardisation

An international committee has been selected to create an ISO standard for translation and interpreting services. ISO / TC 37 / SC 2 / WG 6 “Translation and Interpretation Processes”.

It will unify the European EN 15038 Standard, the American ASTM Standard and the Chinese Standard into a unique ISO standard.

Current certification situation at EVS Translations

EVS Translations is currently in the phase of preparing for an audit by TÜV. The process of certification requires documenting our processes which are in line with the standard. The documentation process is time-consuming and our resources are utilised to ensure that our translations meet customers’ satisfaction.

EN 15038, like ISO 9001 standardises the processes but not the quality of translation and as such, takes a backseat. The core of our business remains ensuring customer retention by meeting expectations in terms of translation quality. Hence, the certification date remains to be determined.