Scottish Engineering Firm Fined £50,000 After Worker’s Fatal Fall
Published on 07/09/2026 at 16:10 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
A Scottish engineering company has been hit with fines and surcharges totalling more than ÂŁ50,000 after health and safety failures led to the death of an employee at a Renfrew facility. Food Process Engineering Ltd appeared at Paisley Sheriff Court this week over the incident, which occurred at the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) in late 2022.
The case centres on the death of 32-year-old Steven Tervit, who fell four metres from a scissor lift while dismantling a classroom structure on 9 November 2022. He died from his injuries the following day.
HSE Investigation Reveals Critical Failures
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) uncovered serious shortcomings in the company's operational procedures. The probe found that Food Process Engineering Ltd had failed to produce an adequate risk assessment for the dismantling work.
Crucially, the company had not used A-frame props — equipment necessary to stabilise the structure during the task. The HSE also determined that the firm made unsafe assumptions about the stability of the structure being dismantled and failed to communicate the existing risk assessment to staff, leaving workers unaware of the specific hazards involved.
Failing to produce an adequate risk assessment was the critical error that led to this tragedy — and it's a gap many employers don't realise exists until it's too late. A free toolkit gives you 41 ready-to-use templates and checklists that help you document workplace hazards properly and stay compliant with UK requirements. Download the free Risk Assessment Toolkit
Court Penalties
At a sentencing hearing on 6 July 2026, Food Process Engineering Ltd was fined ÂŁ50,000 for the safety breaches, with an additional victim surcharge of ÂŁ3,750 imposed by the court.
HSE officials stressed that the company's failure to conduct a proper risk assessment and provide essential safety equipment were direct causes of the fatal fall. The sentencing brings legal proceedings to a close over what investigators described as an avoidable tragedy at the Renfrew site.
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