Media release: Mark Smith wins second prestigious award for marine electrical safety device

Brisbane man, Mark Smith was announced as the winner of Best solution to an identified electrical issue at the Queensland Government’s Safe Work and Return to Work Awards in Brisbane last Friday 21 October 2022.
The awards recognise and celebrate outstanding work health and safety, and return to work. More than 93 organisations and individuals entered the Safe Work and Return to Work Awards this year, demonstrating their dedication to making Queensland workplaces healthier and safer.

The 2022 awards ceremony was held at the W Hotel in Brisbane last Friday with the Minister for Education, Industrial Relations and Racing, Grace Grace and Safety Ambassador, Shane Webcke, presenting the awards at the ceremony. Webke shared an impactful message with the audience – don’t ever get complacent with safety.

Owner of SET Maritime and Electrical, Mark Smith, agrees with Webcke, saying this award for ESHORE – a new shore connection device, affirms his commitment to raising awareness of marine electrical safety issues. Just today, Mark did a spot check of a local marina and found over 85% of vessels had electrical safety issues such as cables being the wrong size and poor quality, and incorrect plug connections – which raises concerns that owners are not aware or being complacent about electrical safety.

Smith says, “I’m absolutely honoured to receive this award. It’s great to receive recognition for something I’ve been working on for the last 4 years. I’m also hoping that winning this award will help to raise awareness of the important issue of marine electrical safety, and the obligations of boaties for the safety and wellbeing of all onboard.”

ESHORE was created by Mark after surveying hundreds of vessels for electrical compliance, and discovering that their shore connections (specifically the connection box for ship to shore electricity supply), were not compliant to the Australian Standards. Further to this, the most critical safety concern is a very serious risk of electrical hazard including electrocution.

ESHORE is an Australian-designed and manufactured shore connection device for all boats and vessels connected to shore power. It’s a compact ‘Plug and Play Shore Connection’ that is safe and meets Australian compliance requirements. ESHORE’s unique and patented electrical design was created to ensure the safety of boat owners, meet regulatory standards and to save time and money on incorrect connections.

Based in Brisbane, Mark was also thrilled to be recognised as an ABA100 Winner in The Australian Business Awards 2022 for Product Innovation [PIA] in September this year. In their seventeenth year, the awards are an annual all-encompassing awards program that recognises organisations that demonstrate the core values of business innovation, product innovation, technological achievement and employee engagement via a set of established business and product award categories.

For more information on the Work Safe and Return to Work awards, visit worksafe.qld.gov.au

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For further information or comment, contact:
Alexandra Sellars
0421 837 060
[email protected]

About
Mark Smith is an AMSA Accredited Marine Surveyor, a member of the Australasian Institute of Marine Surveyors, a Chartered Marine Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST).

SET Maritime & Electrical is owned by Mark Smith, a highly respected electrical contractor, qualified Marine Engineer and an AMSA Accredited Marine Surveyor. For over 40 years, Mark has offered a unique skill set to companies and owners/operators in the marine industry and has developed an extensive knowledge base and expertise to offer services for vessel operation and management. Contact Mark on 07 3067 3438.

ESHORE is a shore connection box meeting maritime industry compliance and regulatory requirements. Watch interview with Mark Smith on ESHORE