A global Class III medical device manufacturer saw the opportunity to standardize its documentation across business units. With Propio’s partnership, 5,000 files were successfully translated into 18 languages.
This large, global Class III medical device manufacturer decided to conduct a master branding initiative. After completing a number of acquisitions and spin-offs, they recognized an opportunity to standardize their documentation throughout several business units of their organization.
The Challenge
The company wanted to standardize all product documentation and associated translated materials from its business units and acquired companies. Using their current document authoring system, the ultimate goal was to:
- Expand document translation to support 18 languages
- Author all documents in the same software platform and application [Adobe® InDesign® (PC version)] to achieve consistency in design and layout
- Deliver all new documents on time to prevent any disruption to the global sales and distribution of their products
After assessing their options, the company chose Propio to provide medical device translation services and desktop publishing for this initiative.
The Solution
Propio worked closely with the client to coordinate the scope and complexity of the file management, translations, desktop publishing, and final file delivery components of each project. Altogether the project involved the fastidious management of more than 5,000 files and translations. The initiative required Propio to do the following:
- Convert documents from Adobe® FrameMaker® (PC), QuarkXPress® and Adobe® PageMaker® (MAC) to Adobe® InDesign® (PC). This included challenging languages with font incompatibilities, such as Greek and Japanese
- Provide converted documents back to the client for making necessary updates to the English source text
- Take updated English source text documents back from the client and prepare files for updating the translations of 10 existing languages and seven new languages. The translation languages included: English into Chinese-Simplified, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese Europe, Spanish-Europe, Swedish and Turkish
- As needed, build and validate glossaries for new terminology and languages
- Format completed translations to match the client-specified layout and design criteria
- Run the translated and formatted documents through a quality check to verify compliance with the client’s master brand requirements
- Deliver all documents back to the client in print-ready format
Despite the magnitude of this initiative, each of the client’s translation projects was processed with the highest level of quality and efficiency thanks to Propio’s technologies and experience with international standards of safety and security.
This provided the client with the confidence needed to submit projects to Propio’s assigned project manager and simply wait for final file delivery, with little or no additional involvement. Below is a summary of other resources used:
- Translation memories − Consisting of text segments (blocks, paragraphs, sentences and phrases) in a source language and their translations into one or more target languages. Client-specific memories were shared with linguists and maintained and updated by Propio.
- Qualified linguists – Linguists who were qualified on the basis of education/ certification, experience, area of expertise,
- Client glossary – In addition to the translation memories Propio assisted with the building and validation of glossaries for key terminology in all of the required languages. These glossaries were referenced by the linguists to maintain consistency.
- Octave – Propio’s Web-based workflow management system enabled our project teams to schedule, resource, manage and deliver projects on time, with efficiency and to the client’s expectations.
Proven Results
Propio’s efficient approach of combining translation proficiency with a customized delivery platform resulted in completion of the SBC documents and regulation compliance in advance of the enrollment deadline.
Propio’s unique translation methodology, proprietary technology and utilization of translation memory saved the health insurance company over 40 percent versus traditional translation services.
Over the course of the three-month project, Propio efficiently translated more than 30,000 pages related to the SBC mandate into all requested languages.
The new information delivery platform created by MCS was able to provide robust tracking information for document status and completely auditable delivery reports.
Propio’s dual expertise in the healthcare market—in both managing the entire information delivery chain and in translations specifically for the healthcare market—makes it a one-stop shop for technology-enabled communications, production, delivery as well as compliant, integrated translation services.
Propio routinely works with extremely high volume, highly confidential data and is able to quickly scale to meet the needs of translating such content, while also providing healthcare companies with the technology infrastructure they need to meet every compliance and audit requirement under the ACA.
