Independent Plymouth translation service first in SW to gain 9001 standard

The Plymouth based independent language and translations service Atlantic Translations has become the first in the South West of England to be awarded the ISO 9001 quality management certification.

The ISO 9001 is a standard related to quality management systems designed to help businesses make sure they meet the needs of customers and live up to statutory and regulatory requirements related to their products.

"By implementing the standard we hope to consolidate our position with all of our existing clients as well as encourage new customers to use our services. Moreover, we feel that we are now in a better position to offer local clients throughout Devon, Cornwall and Somerset a recognised level of service that has not been available until now," Director of Atlantic Translations, Debbie Buse, said.

According to Debbie Buse, the benefits of implementing the ISO 9001 standards include that all systems and processes are documented so that all members of staff follow set procedures and therefore work in a more efficient way. This saves time and also prevents mistakes from being made.

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Implementing the standard had an added advantage for Atlantic Translations when it comes to securing new contracts with major clients.

"ISO 9001 has been proven to help win both public sector tenders as it fulfils many stipulations. ISO 9001 also sets out documented policies and procedures which assist in the submission of response to Requests for Information during competitive tender processes. In many cases having achieved the standard is more and more a basic pre-qualification for public sector or large contract tendering applications," Debbie Buse explained.

Atlantic Translations said they had checked the websites of all of the other translation agencies in the SW and found that the only other agencies to have the ISO 9001 certification were larger companies with numerous offices throughout the country.

"We therefore believe that we are the only independent agency in the SW with the certification," Debbie Buse stated.

She said the process of qualifying for the ISO 9001 took a great deal of time and effort, but suggested that other independent language services in the SW could benefit massively from implementing it.

"It is quite costly and time-consuming. However, in our opinion, the benefits definitely outweigh the costs. Their (other companies without the ISO 9001, ed.) processes may not be as streamlined and as a result they may not be as efficient. The emphasis may therefore not be on providing a quality service," she said.