Documented information - language barrier

Hello,
I work for a medium-sized manufacturing company situated in Europe. Up until recently, we only employed native speakers so we didn't really have a language barrier. All of our work instructions and most of (if not all) the documented information is in one language only.

The thing is, our management decided to work with foreign workers in our plant who don't speak our language, therefore our documentation, instructions and forms etc. are not understood correctly if at all, which can lead to nonconformities. The only help we have right now is their translator, which, in my eyes, is only a temporary solution to this systemic problem.

I don't really have much experience in this field, so correct me if I'm wrong, please, but my logic dictates that if an organization is planning to employ foreigners, it should be prepared to provide and translate all the needed documented information to said foreigners to be compliant with the ISO standards and ensure the quality of the product. Or am I too naive? Does anyone have experience with situations like this?

Thank you.

PS: Sorry for my English, I'm not a native speaker.

 

Good day @Hrodebert and welcome to the site.
1- The workforce of the "future" (the future is NOW for most countries) is not the workforce of the past . I applaud your organization's realization and progressive thinking that allows them to embrace other cultures and languages.

2- I recently had a client reach out to me with a similar problem.
* Their request? : "Can you help us translate all of our point of work documents into another language" ?
* The ACTUAL problem?: They have embraced a broader workforce and cultures and now need to ensure their point of work documents are understood by all.

The solution in "2" above, was not to simply translate documents into one other languages (because MORE languages will follow). Simply translating now creates REDUNDANT documentation that needs to stay managed and coordinated. A monumental task.

Instead, we used a simple globally available software, that allows ...
A- Creating the point of work document steps in simple pictograph (think 'Ikea' or 'Lego') and remove most of the actual verbiage.
B- The aforementioned tool also allows the singularly created/managed document to be read and/or printed in a multitude (prox 30) languages. Create ONCE and then read in any language you choose.

(by the way, ...I am not describing a software that I sell. I can , however, direct you to the company if you are interested).

Hope this helps.
Be well.

 

Love both above answers.

Also consider having a video for each work instruction at a central location and a simple way to identify which procedure they relate to, maybe a combination of colours. Get creative. Then pictographic documents at both the video station and work stations. Innovate.