[Case study]
NITTOKU CO., LTD.
AN-ZIN can be used by an unlimited number of users, so anyone can use the service. It helps eliminate translation-related questions that have been concentrated on a limited number of people, and improve overall company productivity.
| Business category | Development, manufacturing, sales and service provision for precision FA line equipment, winding machines and their peripherals |
|---|---|
| Challenges | So far, we have used paid AI translations from other companies. However, since it is charged per account, the number of users is limited, and so questions become concentrated on particular users. |
| Benefit of introducing solution | If the content is simple, anyone can translate by themselves using the tool, so global human resources can concentrate on their work. Improve productivity for the entire company |
NITTOKU CO., LTD., a leading manufacturer of wire winding machines that are indispensable for the manufacture of smartphones, automobiles, and home appliances. In order to provide high-quality products as soon as possible, they are expanding development, material procurement, and production bases around the world and promoting globalization.
We spoke with 3 people who are involved in translation work from various positions.
Interviewees
| Mr. Furukawa IT Compliance Promotion Office, Administration Headquarters | Responsible for reviewing contracts with overseas, export control, and technical legal affairs. Review based on various legal knowledge is required. |
|---|---|
| Mr. Chris Sales Department, Motor Business Division | As a sales representative, translation is required for creating specifications and technical communication with overseas customers. |
| Ms. Sueki NITTOKU Singapore | Sales assistant for all Asian regions in Singapore. In charge of order management to contract creation. |
■ Translation is required in various situations such as creating contracts and specifications as part of global expansion.
– In what situation do you need translation?
Mr. Furukawa: I am mostly in charge of translating contracts.
Mr. Chris: Since the number of people who can speak English in the domestic departments is limited, I am asked to translate technical contents such as manuals and specifications to explain to foreign customers.
Ms. Sueki: I am translating the contract and spreading the information received from the head office to the branch offices in Southeast Asia.
■ AI translation tools are indispensable for daily work, but AI translation tools from other providers can only be used by a limited number of users. Some people are using free tools.
I think you have already introduced AI translation tools from other providers. How have you been using them?
Mr. Furukawa: When I review the contract, I use the AI translation once to roughly grasp the content, then go back to the original contract to check in detail. This way, I can reduce the time for review and feel the merits of the paid version.
Mr. Chris: Because of the limited number of accounts, people without accounts used free AI translation tools.
Ms. Sueki: Since I used to translate line by line on a free translation site, it took a long time even if the volume was small.
■ Decided to switch from the other provider’s service because they expected that the productivity of the whole company would be improved because anyone can use the tool when necessary.
― What was the deciding factor in switching to T-tact AN-ZIN®?
Mr. Furukawa: As we realized the merits of the paid version through the use of other provider's AI translation tool, we wanted to increase the number of users in the company to dozens, but it was not realistic because the tool would charge per account. The "unlimited number of users" of T-tact AN-ZIN® was very attractive because there were many users who wanted to use the tool just for small volumes.
TOIN's sales representative mentioned that the translation engine is not versatile, so we need to figure out how to get along well. I thought that was true, and that made us positive about introducing it. I think AI translation tools need to be used with a clear understanding of their pros and cons. I appreciated that TOIN presented the current situation about the tool as is.
We decided to switch to T-tact AN-ZIN because we thought that the overall productivity would be improved if more employees could use it at the right price rather than the seeking perfect translation accuracy.
■ It is important to understand and use the pros and cons of AI translation. To this end, we distribute materials about pre-editing to users in the company.
― How do you find T-tact AN-ZIN®?
Mr. Furukawa: It's nice that anyone can use the tool when necessary. For those who are not familiar with AI translation, we give them some basic rule such as "do not omit the subject," and tell them to use the back translation function to judge whether the translated text makes sense.
Since different people have different tastes for translation, some people may find the translation by the former tool is better. However, if pre-editing* is performed properly, translation accuracy can be improved, so we believe that there is no big difference no matter which translation engine is used. Therefore, we distribute materials about pre-editing to educate internal users about how to deal with AI translations.
** Process of editing the text in advance to make it suitable for AI translation.
Mr. Chris: The former AI translation used to take tens of minutes depending on the document. T-tact AN-ZIN® is fast enough and is highly evaluated in the company.
■ The number of questions about translation has decreased, and the global business development has become smoother.
― What kind of changes have been brought to your business since introducing T-tact AN-ZIN®?
Mr. Chris: The former tool was very inconvenient because of a limited number of users. In the past, I received a lot of questions about translation from my department and I couldn’t concentrate on my work. Now, I ask them to create a T-tact AN-ZIN® account and start translating by themselves.
Therefore, the biggest change is that the number of elementary questions has decreased.
Ms. Sueki: NITTOKU has just started using this new AI translation service. We have not yet become familiar with all of the various functions, and also the skill levels of users are different. How to use the service and what we expect from the service will differ accordingly. I think it is at a stage to raise the level by leveraging the skills from Mr. Furukawa and TOIN.
■ Looking forward to usability improvements for the editor in the future.
― Do you have any further requests for T-tact AN-ZIN®?
Ms. Sueki: We don't expect a perfect translation. We would like you to improve the functions of the editor by devising ways to reduce the burden of editing work.
Mr. Furukawa: To achieve the best possible translation accuracy, we believe it is critical to pre-edit the source text before translation, and post-edit the output after translation properly. We have confirmed that we can get appropriate results if we use it properly, so we expect that TOIN will improve the usability aspects of AI translation. For example, we want the functions for formatting and coloring of text to make the review process easier.
Internally, I recommend AI translation by saying "Instead of rejecting AI translation by pointing out its shortcomings, you should understand the characteristics of AI translation and use it wisely.” We don't need such cool translations with the rhyme, etc. as required for novels or movie subtitles in our translation work, so I think we can do well with AI translation.
Understanding of the pros and cons of AI translation, NITTOKU CO., LTD. has decided to introduce TOIN's service. With such valuable opinions in mind, TOIN will continue to evolve T-tact AN-ZIN®.
With 57 years of trust and experience, TOIN helps our customers make the most use of AI translation. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions.
