Translation add-in — the log and report in another language

Shifts record in the local language, but the reader does not always speak it — a foreign maintenance engineer, a specialist, a receiving partner. The translation add-in helps in two places: an assigned colleague reads the log in their own language on screen, and the PDF report sent at shift close arrives in the recipient’s language — attached alongside the authoritative original. Every translation is marked (“machine translation — not authoritative”); the original is always the source of truth.

Before you start

• Permission: to change the settings you need the translation-manage right — translation:manage.
• Add-in: the paid translation add-in is enabled for your company (your provider sets this).
• Where to find it: the Translation sub-tab of the PDF & email tab in the management area.

Steps

1. Open the PDF & email tab, then the Translation sub-tab.
2. Under Target languages, enable at least one language (v1: English). A language can only be enabled if there is a UI catalogue for it — so the PDF’s labels (statuses, captions) are in that language too.
3. In the Who reads the log translated list, assign the users who should read the log in their own language on screen, and set their target language.
4. If the report should also go out translated by email: on PDF & email → Contacts, set the language on the recipient’s row (see the PDF report recipients article).
5. Optionally add company-specific terms to the glossary (see below).

What is translated and what is NOT

Names and identifiers are never translated

Person names (from the roster), numbers, units, dates, and equipment tags and codes (e.g. T1001, P-18-02-A) are kept untouched — the system protects them. Your company’s own labels (section titles, field labels) are translated; if a term must not be translated, or must be translated a specific way, you record that in the glossary (below).

• Translated: the handover narrative, events, the free text of tasks/maintenance, free-text log fields, and your company’s own labels (section/field names, table headers).
• Not translated: names, numbers, units, equipment tags/codes, and the system’s built-in captions (those already render in the target language).

The glossary — your company’s dictionary

The glossary is your company’s human-approved dictionary: source term → target translation. It has two uses:

• Enforced translation: an approved pair is applied directly (the model does not guess) — so a term always translates the same way.
• “Do not translate” (identity): if a term (a product name, a code) must not be translated, add it as identity.

On the Translation sub-tab the system also suggests terms from your labels — you approve or reject them one by one. Growing the dictionary is the company’s responsibility: if the machine would get a term wrong, add the correct pair to the glossary and it takes precedence from then on.

When it worked

• The assigned user sees a language toggle in the log; turned on, the free text shows in their language and the original is one click away. Users who are not assigned see the log unchanged.
• The recipient with a language set receives, at shift close, the translated PDF alongside the authoritative original — and the covering email in that language too.
• Every translated page carries the “machine translation — not authoritative” mark and the source document’s id.

If translation fails, the original still arrives

If a translation cannot be produced, the recipient gets the authoritative original PDF and email — the document is never dropped, and the system never claims a false translation. The in-log toggle then states that translation is currently unavailable.