THE CHALLENGE

DAF Trucks is a major player in the commercial vehicle sector, selling and servicing their products by a network of 1,100 independent dealer locations, and providing them extensive technical training. DAF’s L&D team consists of 10 specialists, supporting around 12,000 learners across various roles, such as mechanics, service advisors, help-desk staff, and claim assessors.

The team at DAF had already been using FLOWSPARKS to create their digital training content and RWS to handle translation and localization. While the process was effective, it still involved multiple manual steps: exporting content, managing translation files, and re-importing, across multiple languages. When a direct integration between FLOWSPARKS and Tradosby RWS was introduced, DAF saw an opportunity to enhance its workflow efficiency.

Luc Raijmakers, Learning & Development Specialist at DAF Trucks, explains:

“There was still alot of manual file management. I was keeping a database of all the files that Iwas putting in and all the output that I was getting back.”

Other key challenges included:

⚡ Keeping translations aligned when content changes mid-process, often causing mismatches or broken imports

⚡ Rolling out approximately 25-30 e-Learnings each yearand manually managing the translations added up to a significant time investment

THE VISION

DAF Trucks aimed to simplify and accelerate their e-Learning translation and localization process. The goal was to reduce manual work, eliminate translation errors, and make content updates more agile and efficient. With their team supporting thousands of learners in multiple languages, they needed a scalable solution that could automate repetitive tasks and free up time for creating more effective training.

At the same time, DAF wanted to ensure every learner, regardless of country or language, had access to aligned and up-to-date training content.

THE SOLUTION

DAF Trucks had been using both FLOWSPARKS and Trados for years, but once they discovered the integration between the two platforms, it quickly became clear how much faster and more efficient the translation process could be.

With the direct integration between the FLOWSPARKS Authoring Tool for content creation and Trados for content localization, DAF Trucks was able to:

⚡Streamline the translation and localization process by replacing manual exports, uploads, and file handling

⚡Prevent translation errors by keeping module versions aligned across 12l anguages, even when content changes mid-process

1. Reducing time investment with a streamlined translation workflow

On average, DAF develops around 25 to 30 e-Learning modules annually. Before taking advantage of the direct integration between FLOWSPARKS and Trados, preparing each e-Learning module for translation took valuable time, even before the actual translation began.

“Everytime I had to start a translation, it would take me 15 to 20 minutes just to prepare it. That’s a lot when you do it often,” Luc explains.

With the integration in place, translation tasks are now much faster and easier to manage. This once time-consuming process is now streamlined into a simpler workflow, saving time with every new module.

Here’show Luc explains the difference this made in practice:

2. Eliminating rework and translation errors through real-time sync

Because the integration allows direct syncing between FLOWSPARKS and Trados, translated content is always aligned with the latest module version. This eliminates the risk of redoing translations when source modules are updated mid-process, which was a common issue in the past.

It avoids issues DAF previously faced when making changes to a module, like splitting a slide or adjusting an ID, which often broke the import and forced a full retranslation.

“Before, we had to retranslate the whole thing again if something went wrong. Now we avoid that.” says Luc.

As Luc explains, that’s no longer an issue:

THE IMPACT

By combining FLOWSPARKS with Trados, DAF Trucks transformed a slow, manual localization process into a streamlined and scalable workflow, freeing up valuable time and eliminating common errors.

What used to take hours of file exports, imports, and manual handling is now done in just three clicks. This shift has drastically reduced translation turn around times and enabled the L&D team to keep pace with the volume and rapid release of new modules.

This means that instead of worrying about mismatched versions or broken imports, the team can now focus on quality and impact.

Luc explains,

“Thanks to the direct integration, small mistakes no longer cause issues. Things like that can just not happen anymore.”

For a team supporting 12,000 learners across multiple countries and languages, the time and effort savings are incredibly valuable. They’ve built a translation& localization system that scales, without increasing the cost.

More about our partner, RWS

RWS is a content solutions company, helping organizations unlock the value of their ideas, data and content. Combining deep human expertise with advanced technology, RWS enables businesses to communicate effectively across languages, markets and channels, ensuring they are understood everywhere.

Among its technology offerings is Trados, an AI-powered language platform that streamlines localization workflows to support the delivery of high-quality multilingual content at scale. Trados combines out-of-the-box AI capabilities (including machine translation and large language models) with seamless integrations to third-party providers, enabling automation, quality checks, and faster delivery at reduced costs. Trados also connects with business and content management systems to automate data flow across localization stages. Whether handling simple tasks or complex workflows, Trados gives you the flexibility to translate everything - your way.

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