Apex' Best Practices
A Better Process For Best Practices
To achieve quality translations focused on our zero-error goal, Apex follows a 15 Points of Excellence process developed from best practices worldwide.
It's an intense process of checking and rechecking, while watching the clock and the budget to ensure the highest value. Reliably rigorous and remarkably conscientious. Because our reputation—and yours—depend on it.
15 Points of Excellence
- Continuous improvement - It spans everything we do from the time we establish contact until we deliver the final product to you. It's a process of measuring and evaluating all processes and improving upon them on a continuous basis.
- Deliver the best possible quality at the lowest possible cost – or the best cost/benefit value for your investment. To this end, we perform a survey twice a year asking our clients to rate our services in terms of our translation quality, on-time delivery, and quality of interaction, and once a year we conduct a detailed analysis by surveying the pricing of Apex’ top competitors in order to better understand our competitive position in the marketplace. The results for the 6-month period ending in March 31, 2009 can be viewed in this report, which you may find useful in your selection process of your translation provider.
- Use accomplished and accredited translators who are professionals in their respective fields and possess at least five years of translation experience who are best suited for a specific project. For example, medical translations are translated by linguists who are also medical professionals, such as medical doctors or nurses—and native speakers of the target language.
- Use translators who have been carefully selected and evaluated using our own rigorous battery of tests and interviews.
- Employ subject matter experts to help the translators with industry-specific termini, if required.
- Maintain glossaries in order to assure consistency in style and terminology for future translation projects. If available, we will integrate client-provided glossaries into our translation process.
- Proofread every document by a qualified linguist, who is not the translator. The proofreader checks for completion and accuracy of the translation, as well as for spelling, punctuation, syntax errors, or unusual style.
- Perform random sample checks (RSCs) of document that has already gone through the proofreading process. These RSCs typically comprise five percent of a text. If any errors are found in these samples, the translation is relegated back to the proofreader.
- Apply SAE Recommended Practice J2450 (Translation Quality Metric), which is a consistent and industry-wide recognized method for measuring translation quality.
- Guarantee that every translation Apex completes meets or surpasses our SAE error score goal and contains and conveys the true and intended meaning of the source text.
- There are no hidden or unexpected charges. The cost to translate your documents will be established before you place an order.
- Deliver on time. We understand the importance of on-time delivery, and we take our delivery commitments very seriously—every time, every order.
- Provide a secure environment for your documents, with emphasis on enforcing non-disclosure agreements. Additionally, all incoming and outgoing e-mail correspondence is routinely scanned with up-to-date anti-virus software.
- Insist on a professional environment. We provide an atmosphere that makes it easy and pleasant for you, the client, to interact with us.
- Offer "entrepreneurial" solutions that meet your specific translation needs.
