The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published Sept. 8 the revision of its requirements and recommendations for simultaneous interpreting delivery platforms (SIDPs).

The organization published the updated “24019:2022 Simultaneous Interpreting Delivery Platforms: Requirements and Recommendations” on Sept. 8, replacing a version from 2020. In revising the document, the ISO paid closer attention to stakeholders involved in the delivery of remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI) services, such as speakers, interpreters, and platform providers, to more effectively standardize the use of the technology. 

“The new standard seeks to ensure that simultaneous interpreters can perform their jobs under reasonable and safe working conditions, so that the listeners can benefit as intended,” reads a Sept. 16 announcement from Naomi Bowman, project editor for ISO 24019 and the CEO of DS-Interpretation. “But it does so in a unique, clear, and fresh way: the standard is not just about technology provided by platforms; it also addresses the responsibilities of various stakeholders and their interdependency, requiring them to work together to achieve compliance.”

Bowman noted in her statement that the earlier version of the 24019 standard, published in 2020, mainly focused on the technology behind the platforms, providing basic standards of quality in a “wild-west RSI market.” By identifying the primary stakeholders who use SIDPs, the ISO devised a set of requirements and recommendations that these stakeholders should adhere to, to ensure that a quality interpretation is deliverable.

“If a speaker does not use a proper microphone and creates poor sound, the platform provider cannot reproduce quality sound to the interpreter, compromising both the interpreter’s ability to work and the quality for the listener,” Bowman writes, explaining why it was necessary to revise the 2020 standard. “This is the case even if the interpreter and the platform provider are otherwise compliant.”

Expanding upon the 2020 version of the standard, the newly published standard is more than twice as long, laying out requirements for interpreters, speakers, and platform providers to ensure that images and audio transmitted between them are conveyed accurately and cleanly. The revised version of the standard is available for CHF 138 ($141.04) on the ISO’s official website.