Programme for Quality Management in Translation

Details

Written by European Commission (2009)

Quality has always been a key concern to DGT, ever since the start of the Commission's translation service more than fifty years ago. Ensuring quality is also a duty for DGT as part of the European Public Service, and a requirement, since DGT must ensure legal certainty of texts that provide rights and obligations for citizens and stakeholders. Translators are also by profession and by their very nature strongly attached to the delivery of the highest quality texts. Moreover, quality is a key competitive advantage of the European public translation service, beyond the
multilingual coverage it can deliver, and the state of the art technologies that it uses.
Many actions to develop and strengthen quality of the translations and the translation process have been undertaken over the recent years. However, these actions have sometimes been uncoordinated, partial or short lived. Some actions also may lag behind changes in the translator's working environment. Moreover, recent enlargements, combined with zero growth of resources have focused attention to demand management and the delivery of required volume within strict deadlines. Also, over the last five years, the translation service has expanded, with more than 1000 new recruitments, with a subsequent need of adjustment to the quality requirements of the service. The present publication reflects the collective and unprecedented effort of the Directorate General Translation and proves that quality management and improvement in translation is not only a key concern, but also a fruitful and inclusive exercise yielding encouraging results.

FREE e-Book