EUATC Web - European Union of Associations of Translation Companies

At a recent international conference on quality in translation and interpreting held by CIUTI at the UN in Geneva the standard was presented by DIN and other speakers. It was apparent that many universities and translation training establishments still do not know about the standard or its relevance to future generations of translators. The President of the EUATC was present and took the opportunity to explain briefly the importance of the standard as a benchmark for the industry and a means of demonstrating a real commitment to quality.

EN 15038-Translation Services-Service Requirements is the first Europe-wide standard for translation services and can be applied by Translation Service Providers (TSP) of all sizes and types in any Member State. It is a voluntary standard. This means that TSPs may choose to apply the standard to their organization and demonstrate this through self-declaration or third-party certification but it is not compulsory to do so. (For descriptions of these terms, please see below)

What will it achieve?

Its primary objective is to “establish and define the requirements for the provision of quality service”. By following the elements of the standard, a TSP will be able to achieve a high quality and consistency of service, and these service levels will be similar to the service levels of other TSPs who follow the standard. The standard does not, however, preclude individuality nor does it regulate commercial decisions