I grew up in a small Midwestern town that was once home to a multinational steel producer, the world’s largest dress pattern maker, and hundreds of small machine shops that supplied the assembly lines of Detroit and Chicago. Sadly, those businesses are now all gone, replaced by tattoo parlors, check-cashing services…and vape shops. For those of you that don’t know, a vape shop is where you go to purchase e-cigarettes and supplies.
Now, I have nothing against e-cigarettes and the businesses that sell them per se (well, maybe a little). However, nearly all e-cigarettes are manufactured in China and, due to a lack of manufacturing quality control, vapor from these products can be tainted with nickel, chromium, silicon fibers, etc. The hazards associated with China-produced e-cigarettes was recently documented in a front-page NYTimes article (you can find it here).
The reason why carcinogenic vape supplies are readily available in the U.S. is largely due to lax manufacturing standards combined with insufficient audit/inspection resources. In this environment, small sub-suppliers are hugely incented to debase products (economic adulteration) – and you can see this in other examples from China, such as melamine milk and lead paint toys.
This same principle applies to translation services – especially to those in specialized, technical fields like medical device translation. By using less qualified (debased) translators, suppliers lower their costs and improve margins. Similarly, cutting back on necessary QC processes has the same beneficial effect for suppliers, but increased risk and potential long-term cost for manufacturers. What’s a device maker to do?
Fortunately, EnCompass Translation Audit & Review Services can help. EnCompass Audit & Review services are based on a Notified Body-endorsed risk management process, combined with a Notified Body-approved grading and scoring system and validated, online technology to dramatically increase reviewer convenience and productivity. If your translation review process is out of control, or if you need to protect yourself from potential “economic adulteration” in your translated labeling, EnCompass Audit & Review can help. For more information, email: translation_review@encompass.transperfect.com
