FAO Field Days – a 10-point equipment check-list
Simultaneous interpretation equipment is essential for any international meeting's success – this check-list can help avoid major hiccups.
Simultaneous interpretation equipment is essential for any international meeting's success – this check-list can help avoid major hiccups.
Three new standards related to conference interpreting and 2 updated standards on interpretation booths and equipment are now in place.
Professional associations benefit not only their members or the profession as a whole, but also the managers and employers of interpreters. A few examples from my own career illustrate this.
Two AIIC members active in the ISO Working Group on Interpreting discuss new international standards in the works.
General characteristics and equipment
General characteristics and equipment
Since technical innovations are frequent and new brands may appear on the market, this inventory cannot be exhaustive. Its purpose is to list the brands of consoles, headsets and booths most frequently used.
Since its establishment in 1953, AIIC has been a key partner in the conference industry.
AIIC developed professional standards knowing that working conditions affect quality - and thus communication. In the 1970's, the association collaborated with the EU and ISO in elaborating technical standards for built-in booths and sound equipment (ISO 2603), and later extended that cooperation to mobile installations (ISO 4043). Further efforts to understand and promote quality have continued with AIIC-sponsored projects such as the Work Load Study. This collective concern with quality is also felt individually by members, perhaps in ways that might surprise some.
Il est rare qu'un interprète puisse assurer une prestation satisfaisante, sans maîtrise des langues et sans formation adéquate. Mais qu'en est-il des facteurs extérieurs, tels que la normalisation des cabines d'interprétation et autres facteurs échappant totalement à la volonté de l'interprète ? Quelle est leur influence sur la prestation du plus chevronné et que peut faire l'aiic pour contribuer à assurer des conditions de travail satisfaisantes à ses membres (et aux non membres par la même occasion) ?
The preparatory process was relatively short and painless: the compilation of a rather dull but satisfactorily exhaustive quality manual; a few discussions over the wording of procedures, and a seminar conducted by our quality consultant on the system itself bringing together nearly all the members of our group. Then in July 2005 AMI received UNI EN ISO 9001:2000 certification.
What does ISO 9001:2000 certification mean for an interpreters' cooperative?
Recently the Turkish Region of AIIC, in collaboration with the BKTD, our national association of conference interpreters, decided to focus attention on professional development and communication with other stakeholders. The reasons are clear: good training and professionalism alone do not ensure high quality service; pre-conference coordination and proper equipment are essential to our work. Thus communication with equipment suppliers and professional conference organisers (PCOs) is important. A collective effort offers a better chance of success.
Leitlinien für Architekten, Bauherren, Planer und Entwickler von Konferenzeinrichtungen.
Encuentro convocado el 20 de noviembre 2014 para subrayar la importancia de normas nacionales en el campo de la interpretación.