Rochester, NY – Advanced Language Translation recently updated its certification for Quality Systems Management to ISO standard 9001:2008. The company demonstrated a proficiency in management and quality standards that fewer than 100 translation/localization firms have achieved worldwide. The ISO standard for Quality Systems Management is recognized throughout the world in both the manufacturing and service sectors.

Advanced Language originally won certification in January 2004. Over the past six years the firm has maintained certification without interruption, having passed annual surveillance audits and triennial registration audits. The newer version of the standard adds requirements for the management of outsourced work processes and includes the quality management of a company’s information systems.

Although improving quality can be a challenge for both large and small firms, the benefits outweigh the expenditures to reach these goals. Fortune 500 companies definitively recognize ISO 9000 certification and frequently use it as a qualifier of potential suppliers. The growth of small and medium sized companies can often be catalyzed by ISO 9001:2008 acquisition by opening the door to multinational firms.

In general, the ISO standards make the development, manufacturing and supply of products safer, cleaner, and more efficient. Highlights of the standards Advanced Language Translation Inc. was required to meet include: management involvement, defined and documented quality systems, and formal training programs among many others. The benefits implied by the certification include: increased productivity and efficiency, and improved communications.

Service companies do not usually seek certification; they are typically sought by manufacturing firms for the purpose of meeting both international process , and environmental standards. “Achieving and maintaining our quality systems management certification is vital to the ongoing success of Advanced Language,” notes Scott Bass, president of the firm. “Initially certification was motivated by our need to foster a more robust management environment for our quality assurance. But, in addition to that this quality standard has enabled us to grow thanks to the increases in operational effectiveness we have achieved.”

For more information on the International Standards organization visit www.iso.org.