eQQui case study: Simultaneous interpretation equipment rental
Services Requested: Simultaneous Interpretation Equipment Rental (and Hybrid Management) for 4,500 pax.
Language Pairs: English <> Mandarin, Japanese, & Burmese (via Zoom)
Result: Completed
This August 2022, Lexcode made history by providing its simultaneous interpretation equipment rental services for a crowd of 4,500 people at World Trade Center, Manila, Philippines. It was also the first time Lexcode offered its hybrid management services, simultaneously utilizing the traditional booth and Zoom platforms.
Client’s Background: OrangeOlive Events Inc. is a full-service event and production agency with expertise in the field of corporate and digital events. This company has been a long-time client of Lexcode since 2019 and was the first client to restart its equipment rental services this May 2022 after in-person events were halted in 2020.
Services Requested:
Simultaneous Interpretation Equipment Rental
- Simultaneous interpretation for face-to-face events is only made possible with the right equipment. As the client had its own roster of interpreters, Lexcode was in charge of ensuring that interpretation could be delivered to the audience through its equipment. This includes the interpretation booth, interpreter consoles, simultaneous interpretation systems, and receivers
Hybrid Simultaneous Interpretation Management
- Ever since the start of the pandemic, more cost-effective and convenient options, such as remote interpreting, have been the go-to of companies and organizations in need. Given that the interpreters in charge of Burmese can only join virtually, the main event audio was connected to a laptop where the interpreters were listening in through Zoom. For the live participants in need of Burmese interpretation, another laptop was connected to an interpreter console. This setup was feasible even without the Zoom interpretation function available.
Project Volume and Description:
- Two simultaneous interpretation ISO booths
- Two central control units and transmitters
- Two interpreter consoles w/ microphones and headphones
- 4,500 delegate receivers w/ earpiece
Two simultaneous interpretation ISO booths were set up on site to house the Mandarin and Japanese interpreters, respectively. The Burmese interpreters, on the other hand, joined online via Zoom. The original floor audio was fed through a laptop while Burmese interpretation was connected to the interpreter console. A total of 4,500 receivers were distributed to the delegates before entering the event premises and collected afterward.
Pre-Event/Ingress Documentation
Event Documentation
Post-Event/Egress Documentation
Timeline: July–August 2022 (31 days)
- 07/11/2022: Received request for 1 SI ISO booth setup and 7,500 receivers
- 07/11-12/2022: Checking of equipment inventory (local and international)
- 07/13/2022: Confirmed capacity to provide 5,500 receivers
- 07/14/2022: Submitted cost estimate for 5,500 receivers
- 07/14-25/2022: Negotiation period (i.e., provided quotations for remote option, a smaller number of receivers, etc.)
- 07/22/2022: Contacted freelancers for additional event manpower
- 07/26/2022: Received final request and confirmation for 1 SI ISO booth setup and 4,500 receivers
- 07/26/2022: Received additional request for 1 SI ISO booth setup
- 07/26/2022: Start of equipment preparation and testing; creation and procurement of event materials; arrangement of logistics for local and South Korea teams
- 07/27/2022: Confirmed 20 additional people as part of the project’s workforce
- 08/07/2022: Arrival of team from South Korea
- 08/08/2022: Event ingress
- 08/09/2022: Same-day confirmation and setup of additional booth requirement
- 08/09-10/2022: Event proper (briefing with freelancers, distribution and collection of receivers, monitoring and testing of simultaneous interpretation equipment)
- 08/10/2022: Event egress
Work Process:
- Quotation request
- Equipment inventory checking
- Issuance of quotation (negotiation)
- Confirmation of quotation
- Equipment preparation
- Booking of workforce, equipment transportation, and other logistical matters
- Ingress (day before event proper)
- Event proper
- Egress (right after event)
- Equipment inventory and disinfection
Challenges:
- Tight schedule as there were only two weeks left from the day of confirmation
- Rush and same-day request for an additional booth and SI system
- The need for hybrid setup was only relayed a day before the event
Solutions:
- Coordination with the team began even before the confirmation, which helped speed up the workflow, including the booking of workforce personnel, preparation of receivers in Manila and Seoul, etc.
- As there was an advanced notice regarding an additional booth, it was already prepared, even though the client confirmed the previous day that it was no longer in need of an additional booth.
- Prior training in managing a hybrid simultaneous interpretation setup was conducted internally, so it was easier for the team to explain the process. In addition, bringing along engineers to check and ensure quality was a huge help.
- Overall, anticipation, preparation, and constant communication with the client and team were the biggest contributors to making this event a success.
Results:
- Provided all services requested even on short notice
- Out of 4,500 receivers released, 32 were lost and/or not returned (0.71% of the total)
