Hydrography Awards
Hydrographic Excellence Award
Introduction
The SSSI Hydrographic Excellence (HE) Award recognises those individuals or teams working in the field of hydrography across the various hydrographic disciplines, who have made an outstanding contribution to the science of hydrography.
This award replaces the former Hydrographic Safety Representative Award. The Hydrography Commission identified the need to recognise more broader efforts and endeavours beyond workplace health and safety, for example project-related work that exemplifies the highest standards of professional hydrographic excellence or field work that has resulted in a lasting difference/contribution to a particular hydrographic discipline.
The Hydrographic Excellence Award aims to recognise hydrographic project and field work that embraces hydrographic surveying activities that reflect hydrographic excellence and which deliver hydrographic best practice, either ashore or afloat.
Eligibility
Any hydrography-qualified individual or hydrographic team involved with overseeing, managing, or conducting hydrographic project field work across any of the hydrography disciplines over the past 12 months is eligible to nominate themselves, a colleague or their team.
Nomination
The HE Award is part of the broader Asia-Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards (APSEA) program. Nominations open around May each year.
Details of criteria and how to nominate can be found on the APSEA page.
Importantly, the justification for the award must articulate a clear description of the individuals or teams performance, its value to the organisation/company or the hydrographic community in general, and any beneficial results arising from such performance.
In considering how best to address criteria, the nomination might include consideration of the following:
- For an individual nomination, the discharge of duties additional, or superior, to those of the nominees rank, position or status;
- Duties carried out/work performed in difficult and challenging circumstances either as a result of a single notable performance or longer-term performance over a number of hydrographic-related activities throughout the year;
- Duties/work performed in such a way that it realises special/enduring value to the hydrographic community and/or industry (for example outcomes that enhance the standing of the hydrographic discipline in Australasia either at a national or international level); and
- Results that may have realised tangible safety-related outcomes to support effective hydrographic operations.
Presentation
The Hydrographic Excellence Award will be presented at the regional APSEA dinner located closest to the award winner. APSEA dinners are held in conjuction with SSSI regional conferences.
Past recipients
| 2015 |
Malcolm Howard, Fugro Services |
| 2016 |
Not awarded |
| 2017 |
Pilbara Ports Authority & Precision Hydrographic Services |
| 2018 |
Not awarded |
| 2019 |
iXBlue |
| 2020 |
Not awarded |
| 2021 |
To be announced shortly! |
Other Industry Awards
The HE Award does not replace current recognition for hydrographic surveyors in place through other awards programs with vested interests in hydrographic surveying. Rather, the HE Award aims to complement such recognition to help advance the hydrographic profession. To this end, HE Award nominees and recipients may be eligible for nomination for other categories of the APSEA program or spatial science, health and safety or environmental awards through other organisations, two of which are outlined below.
AHS Award Scheme
The Australasian Hydrographic Society is a learned organisation with a membership that covers a broad spectrum of all those involved or having an expressed interest in hydrography and related sciences. They hold an annual awards program with two levels of awards, the Australasian Society awards and the NZ-EA-WA Regional awards.
The first awards under this scheme were made at HYDRO 2003 in Christchurch and it is intended that awards since 2014 will be made annually at World Hydrography Day celebration events.
Visit the awards page on the AHS website for all the details.
APPEA Excellence Awards
The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) Environment and Safety Awards are presented as part of the annual APPEA National Health, Safety and Environment Conference. Since 2001, the awards have showcased the oil and gas industry’s unwavering commitment to maintain high environmental and safety standards.
Visit the Excellence Awards page on the APPEA website for all the details.
If you or your team are considering nominating, please note:
- The APPEA Awards are limited to those hydrographic personnel working in the Australian offshore oil and gas industry.
- SSSI can provide appropriate assistance if required to support an APPEA nomination (e.g. letter of support).
- No financial assistance is provided for Awards nominations.