Member Profile: Claude Lamoureux
Occupation:	Multilingual Information Services Manager; PerkinElmer Life Sciences, Finland.
	His name, his employer, and his employer's specific site, Turku, are a curious combination. Telephone numbers intensified the intrigue as to his location and occupation. Upon further inquiry, Claude turned up in Finland, where the forest provides raw materials for the pulp and paper industry. Not only that, but Finland also thrives on information technology. During his pursuit of a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages, Claude travelled to Finland as an exchange student from Montreal, Canada. His origins are in the Québec, French-English multilingual society, yet the lure of Finland enticed him to return and complete his Master of Arts degree in Translation Studies. The first proverbial breadcrumb, in Claude's trail to a career as a linguist and translator, appeared early in his youth. “As a kid, I remember writing a note on a tool box. The closing mechanism of that box was so weak that holding the box from the handle would let all the contents (hundreds of screws) fall on the floor…I insisted on clear and simple French.” Claude began his career at a small company as a translator for instruction manuals. Then, he picked up his pencils and made the transition to a company that was ordering the manuals. His enthusiasm for the job comes from working with multilingual co-workers, who speak as many as seven languages. The skill levels and cooperative efforts in learning complex technical systems converge into a sense of team pride and accomplishment. When asked about what gives him the confidence to proceed with a project, he says: “…we insist on defining our needs. Indeed, as long as you know where you are going, what you are doing and why, you will succeed.” Claude focuses on improvement through definition, as well as realization that mistakes and inconsistencies occur: “…the important thing is to avoid repeating them: how to turn a corrective action into a preventive one.” He emphasizes the need to plan ahead, obtain consensus on terminology, and to fearlessly question procedures when doubt creeps into the process. His daily goals include process improvement, as well as “to whom have we promised something today, how can we surprise not only our customers but ourselves?” To Claude, documentation quality is elegantly summarized as the “right information at the right time, in the right format and in the right language.” When all is well at work for the day, he puts his pens and pencils into the cup on his desk and looks forward to spending time at home with his three small children. In pursuit of family leisure time, he enjoys sports as well as good food.
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