Translation of technical manuals: operating manuals and installation documentation

An equipment manual carries three functions at once: it is a technical guide for the operator, a legal document for the manufacturer and importer, and a safety barrier for the user. That is exactly why the translation of a manual cannot be "approximate": an incorrectly carried over tightening torque, reversed polarity in an electrical diagram or an omitted warning leads to a real accident, loss of warranty or a regulator's sanction. We translate technical manuals so that the Georgian version is exactly as reliable for the engineer as the source.

Which documents fall within this area

• Operating manual: the purpose of the equipment, controls, operating modes, troubleshooting tables.
• Installation guide: foundation requirements, connection diagrams, earthing, commissioning checklist.
• Maintenance and service manual: maintenance intervals, lubricant specifications, spare parts catalogue numbers.
• Quick start guide and wall posters for the production area.
• Software manuals: user documentation for HMI panels, PLC controllers, SCADA systems and the equipment's embedded software.
• Integrated documentation of production lines: multi-volume packages in which the mechanical, electrical and pneumatic parts cross-reference each other.

Why manual translation is a legal matter

The Georgian Code on Product Safety and Free Movement and the technical regulations adopted under it require that a product placed on the market be accompanied by Georgian-language information and a manual. The EU Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC) and the regulation replacing it, (EU) 2023/1230, set the same principle for the European market: the manual must be in the official language of the country where the equipment is used, and the translation must be clearly marked as a "translation of the original instructions".

In practice this means that:

• the importer is responsible for the existence and correctness of the Georgian manual, even if the manufacturer is abroad;
• in a warranty dispute or an accident investigation it is the Georgian version that is examined as the information provided to the user;
• a Georgian company selling its own equipment in the EU or Turkey is obliged to provide the manual in the buyer's language.

The hierarchy of safety warnings

The most critical part of a manual is the safety messages. The ANSI Z535.6 and ISO 3864-2 standards set a four-level system, and in translation these levels must not be mixed up:

• DANGER: a situation that will certainly cause death or serious injury;
• WARNING: a situation that may cause death or serious injury;
• CAUTION: a situation that may cause minor or moderate injury;
• NOTICE: a risk of property damage, with no risk of injury.

We translate each level with one fixed Georgian equivalent throughout the document and preserve the signal word, pictogram and colour coding. We also check that all three components of a warning, the nature of the hazard, the consequence and the avoidance action, are carried over in full in the translation.

Terminology and consistency over 400 pages

The main challenge of manual translation is volume. The same assembly, button or error code is repeated hundreds of times in the document, and if it is a "supply pump" once, a "feed pump" the second time and a "feeder" the third, the operator will never work out whether one device or three are being discussed. To avoid this:

• before the project starts we create a glossary and agree it with the client's technical staff;
• we work in a CAT system with translation memory, which automatically maintains a term once approved;
• screen text (the names of buttons, menus, messages) is translated exactly as it appears on the equipment's Georgian interface or, if the interface stays in English, is left in English with a Georgian explanation.

Format and layout

Manuals usually arrive in InDesign, FrameMaker, Word or PDF format, while drawings and exploded views are separate graphic files. Our processing covers:

• translation of the callouts on illustrations in an editable layer or in a legend table;
• carrying over tables, tolerances and units unchanged, with a parallel indication of metric and imperial units where necessary;
• control of text length: Georgian text is on average 15-25% longer than English, which requires layout adjustment;
• automatic updating of the table of contents, index and cross-references in the finished file.

The process step by step

1. Analysis of the files, word count and identification of repeated segments.
2. Compiling the glossary and approving it with the client.
3. Translation by a subject-matter translator.
4. Technical editing: checking the sequence of actions, figures and warnings.
5. Layout (DTP) and final visual check in the finished format.
6. Delivery in the same format in which we received the source, together with the translation memory file.

Typical errors we avoid

• inconsistent use of the imperative, when one paragraph says "press" and the next "you should press";
• mixing decimal separators (2.5 mm and 2,5 mm) in one document;
• "translating" or transliterating part numbers and error codes;
• softening or tightening a warning level for stylistic reasons;
• replacing a cross-reference in the source ("see section 4.3") with page numbers, which becomes outdated at every update.

A manual package is often accompanied by a declaration of conformity and ISO certificates, while the safety part intended for the production area is checked against the standards of HSE documentation. We process all three in one terminology base.

Frequently asked questions