Mark Inglis & Dean Smith | WHS Show Melbourne 2025

In health and safety, we often talk about systems, compliance, and metrics. But every now and then, a story cuts through the noise, reminding us what it’s at stake. 

At the Workplace Health and Safety Show in Melbourne, electrician Mark Inglis shared a story few in the room will forget. It wasn’t a story about a freak accident. It was about pressure, routine, complacency, and a decision that changed everything. 

Mark was setting up monitoring gear at a Brisbane health facility. No arc-rated gear. Just a T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers. The job was familiar and quick. Not worth disrupting supply for. Until it was. 

“I touched the wrong part of a live switchboard. It just went boom. Bright light, a sickening sound… and then nothing.” 

In an instant, temperatures soared to 20,000 degrees Celsius. Mark was thrown backwards, badly burned, and in shock. The photo taken just after the incident circulated quickly across the industry. It became a hard visual truth on how quickly cutting corners can turn into catastrophe. 

When the paperwork isn’t enough 

There was a risk assessment. There was a SWMS. But neither were followed that day. 

“I disregarded it. I got complacent. I made the call to do the job live and I’ve paid for it every day since.” 

This is where safety systems so often fall short. When process is seen as box-ticking rather than protection. When teams are forced to choose between productivity and procedure. 

The incident left Mark with serious burns and months of treatment. But the deeper pain came after. 

“It wasn’t just me who got hurt. It was my wife, my family, my team. I carried the weight of knowing this could’ve been prevented.” 

That’s the piece we don’t always see. The cost of an incident doesn’t end with the person injured. It ripples through homes, families, teams, and organizations. Every choice we make on the job has a wider circle of impact and that’s why our systems, culture, and leadership have to be built for more than compliance. They need to be built for people. 

A preventable burn. A $200 shirt. 

Dean Smith from TRu Brands joined the session to talk about the misconceptions around arc flash and PPE. Mark’s story made the risks real and the alternatives just as clear. 

“If I’d been wearing proper FR gear, I still would’ve had the incident. But I wouldn’t have been burnt. Instead of months of trauma, it would’ve been a $200 shirt.” 

How many times do teams downplay the risk because a task seems too small to warrant full protection? This mindset is still far too common especially when safety gear is seen as expensive, unnecessary, or hard to access. 

“Every sparkie should own FR gear. Even if they only use it once a year, they need to have it.” 

This is where leadership plays a critical role. Not just in providing the right gear, but in shaping a mindset where safety is seen as an essential part of doing the job — not an optional extra. 

When safety depends on speaking up  

Mark’s turning point wasn’t just surviving the incident. It was facing the decisions that led to it.

“I should’ve said no. I knew better, but I didn’t speak up.”  

That sentence sits at the heart of so many incidents, and so many near misses. Safety depends on more than process. It depends on voice. If someone doesn’t feel supported to pause the job or challenge the risk, the system isn’t working.  

And for leaders, this is the wake-up call: If your culture doesn’t protect the person who speaks up, it’s not protecting anyone. 

What this means for safety leaders  

Stories like Mark’s remind us that the job of safety is never theoretical. It’s deeply human. And it’s deeply strategic. We talk a lot about simplifying safety, automating the admin, connecting systems. But behind all of that is one goal, making it easier for people to do the right thing, every time.  

Because cutting corners doesn’t start with bad intentions. It starts with pressure, unclear processes, limited resources, and too many systems that don’t speak to each other. To shift this, we need more than reactive measures. We need preventative design. Configurable, fit-for-purpose systems. Gear that’s not just compliant but accessible. And a culture that puts people, and their families, at the center.  

Every tool, every policy, every decision should contribute to one outcome: getting everyone home safely. 

About Mark Inglis

Mark Inglis is a WHS Manager and electrical safety advocate with firsthand insight into the risks of high-hazard environments. Beginning his career as an electrician and later moving into project and safety management, Mark brings deep, practical experience to his work. As an arc flash survivor, he now shares his story to help drive change in how the industry thinks about risk, culture, and accountability.

Mark is also a brand ambassador for TRu Brands, where he partners to promote access to high-quality, arc-rated gear and support a safer standard across the electrical industry.
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