The project was tied to a formal bidding process; documents submitted late or incorrectly formatted would disqualify the bid. This was not a translation project with a flexible deadline. It was a translation project with a legal and commercial deadline that could not move.

The documentation covered the complete facilities management scope of a hospital operation: Waste management, telecommunications, security, reception, portering, pest control, organisational charts, linen services, helpdesk, general services, cleaning methods, catering and car parking. Each domain carried its own operational terminology and procedural language. None of it was highly specialised medical content, but all of it required consistent, accurate translation across a large volume of interconnected documents.

An additional requirement: precise formatting and colour coding from the original documents had to be preserved throughout. The translated files had to match the source layout exactly, since this was a bidding document and visual consistency was part of the submission requirement.

 

▮Our Approach

The project manager assembled a five-person team immediately: three translators, one editor and one DTP specialist, working in parallel on segmented document batches to meet the deadline.

SDL Studio Trados was used to build a shared translation memory from the first segment. With three translators working simultaneously on related content, terminology consistency across documents required active management. The shared TM and a project glossary ensured that the same term in waste management documentation matched the same term when it appeared in general services documentation.

A structured Q&A process was established between all parties: questions from translators were routed through the project manager and answered by the client, with responses distributed across the team. This prevented individual translators from making independent terminology decisions that would create inconsistencies at the editing stage.

After translation and editing, a DTP specialist restored the original formatting (colour coding, table structures, organisational charts) to match the source documents exactly.

 

▮Results

Complete, accurately formatted hospital management documentation delivered within the bidding deadline. Five-specialist team assembled and coordinated within hours of project receipt. Shared translation memory built across all document types. Formatting and colour coding preserved throughout. Client satisfied with delivery.