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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

Hors Service (HS)

English translation:

Out of service (OS)

Added to glossary by Bashiqa
Oct 3, 2023 10:21
7 mos ago
37 viewers *
French term

Hors Service (HS)

French to English Tech/Engineering Mechanics / Mech Engineering Aerial platforms
Produit hors service
I know that the object does not work but is there an approved abbreviation in US English?
TIA Chris.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +3 Out of service (OS)
4 +1 INOP or U/S (see clarifications)
4 US
References
see

Discussion

Bashiqa (asker) Oct 5, 2023:
@ All Just to clarify this was a sticky note on a computer screen. The reason for an abbreciation is because of restricted line length for the translation. OOS, i.e. out of service would be OK, but OOS in the Pharma industry is Out of specification. I`m tempted by OOO, out of order.
Anton Konashenok Oct 5, 2023:
@philgoddard Phil, you aren't an engineer, are you? I understand your argument on the face of it, but as regards *technical* usage, you are wrong because "unserviceable" doesn't mean "one that cannot be serviced" but rather "one that cannot be [currently] put into service". It's not just an isolated phenomenon, the word "unserviceable" in this sense occurs in the official regulations hundreds of times, and I work with these regulations on a daily basis in my other career as an aircraft maintenance engineer. It's the same in other technical fields, too.
philgoddard Oct 5, 2023:
Anton It's not possible for a component to be unserviceable and repairable. That's a contradiction, in aviation and everywhere else.
Mpoma Oct 4, 2023:
@Anton You make an interesting point. But this is about a produit. We can be pretty sure this is not about aviation. In fact Bashiqa says in a comment that it was something stuck on a computer.
Anton Konashenok Oct 4, 2023:
@philgoddard "unserviceable means it can never be used again" - this is not really true. For example, in both European (EASA) and American (FAA) official civil aviation terminology, an unserviceable component is inoperative but may be repairable, whereas something that "can never be used again" is called unsalvageable.
Bashiqa (asker) Oct 4, 2023:
@ Daryo I usually provide lots of context, but this came up quite some time ago and I entered "out of order". I asked the client if they had a list of abbeviations that they used, but as often the case, no reply. From memory, it was a single entry alongside "ordinateur - H.S." What the actual state of the computer is impossible to know, broken, switched off, in quarantine or whatever.
Daryo Oct 3, 2023:
@ Bashiqa You definitely need to provide MORE context.

You can have s.t. to be "Hors Service" because

-- it needs to be repaired and made usable again
-- it's beyond repair - only good for scrap
-- perfectly functioning but not used at a given point in time, for being surplus to requirement at that point in time.

If you neglect these "little details" you could translate that a "turbine Hors Service because it was stopped at time of low demand for electricity" is a "turbine good only for scrap metal" ...

Proposed translations

+3
4 hrs
Selected

Out of service (OS)

I think you should avoid abbreviations unless you can be sure that everyone will understand them. But if you have to use one, this seems an obvious choice.
http://www.acronymfinder.com/Out_of_Service-(OS).html

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Note added at 4 hrs (2023-10-03 15:05:41 GMT)
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Organisations have approved abbreviations, but countries don't. This works anywhere in the English-speaking world.
Peer comment(s):
agree liz askew
17 hrs
agree Mpoma : Yes, I've done a bit a gsearching because my mind was not coming up with any abbreviations. I don't think we have an abbreviation for this in UK English. Some suggestion of "OOS" for US English: you'd know whether this is common or not.
1 day 3 hrs
agree ph-b (X) : and also with liz askew
1 day 17 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you."
+1
2 hrs

INOP or U/S (see clarifications)

INOP is an abbreviation for "inoperative" - this one is not used for the whole vehicle/machine, but may e.g. appear on a sticker affixed to an inoperative component when the vehicle can otherwise be used, so as to warn the operator.

On the other hand, if you have e.g. a status table for the company fleet, the vehicles that are unusable would usually be marked U/S in the US English (with a slash in the vast majority of cases).
Peer comment(s):
agree Anastasia Kalantzi
8 hrs
Thanks
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3 mins

US

"US stands for Unserviceable"
https://www.acronymfinder.com/Unserviceable-(US).html

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Note added at 4 mins (2023-10-03 10:26:06 GMT)
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Also U/S, u/s.

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Note added at 1 hr (2023-10-03 12:01:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It would appear to apply to the USofA. I don't know the details of your question i.e. what you mean/what is meant by "the object does not work".

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Note added at 3 hrs (2023-10-03 13:35:31 GMT)
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Definitions of HS include "Qui ne fonctionne plus" and "une locution employée pour qualifier quelque chose qui n'est plus en état de servir, temporairement ou définitivement", so it really depends …
Then of course we have buses, etc. labelled 'hors service' which are in fact perfectly functional but are "pas en service".
Note from asker:
Thank you, but does that apply to my question or the country?
Peer comment(s):
neutral writeaway : not the same thing as out of order
3 mins
neutral philgoddard : I know U/S is often incorrectly used to mean temporarily out of order, but unserviceable means it can never be used again.
4 hrs
neutral Mpoma : Share the neutrals. I don't in fact think we commonly use an acronym for "out of service" in English. And "US" would confuse me mightily if stuck on a bus.
1 day 8 hrs
neutral Daryo : The problem is that if you check real-life usage in French it could mean BOTH "not in use as it can't be used [not in working order]" and "not in use as it's not needed".
2 days 22 hrs
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Reference comments

32 mins
Reference:

see

Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree ph-b (X)
21 mins
agree Daryo : Very good point!
12 hrs
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