Translation of manuals

Manuals can take many forms, from one-page construction instructions for a bedside table to multi-volume operating instructions for a machine park. Even if some of us consider them superfluous, they are always there. This actually has to be the case, because according to the Machinery Directive, manuals must be included. They must also be written in the respective national language, although the respective types of instructions differ greatly in this regard. While an operating manual must always include the original and the translation into the official language, a maintenance manual may also be in the language of the relevant technical personnel. A Tesla plant in Germany may therefore also be consistently serviced in English. Assembly instructions, in turn, may be written in the language accepted by the recipient of the machine.

This is complicated by the fact that some countries have several official languages. Therefore, some translations are only sufficient in certain parts of the country. In the Finnish region of Åland, for example, an operating manual would therefore also have to be translated into Swedish. Finnish alone would not be sufficient. A faulty manual is not a faux pas, but sufficient reason in Germany to make a claim for defects. Jokingly referred to as the “Ikea clause”, Section 434 of the German Civil Code states that the seller can be held liable for this. In order to protect you against this, we support you with our professional technical translators, gladly also in accordance with DIN EN ISO 17100 (successor to DIN EN ISO 15038) and with the dual control principle.