Steven Tervit had been carrying out a dismantling operation at a specialist technology centre in Renfrew on 9 November 2022 when the incident happened. The 32-year-old was employed as a labourer by Food Process Engineering Limited and had worked for the company for approximately 15 years.

Mr Tervit had been working at a height of around four metres on a scissor lift, removing wall panels from a cleanroom at the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) at Westway Business Park, Porterfield Road, when the remaining panels fell and struck the platform. Mr Tervit was thrown from the lift onto the concrete floor of the warehouse.

He was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where he was found to have suffered a traumatic brain injury, rib fractures, lung contusions and fractures to his right thigh bone and left shin bone. He died in hospital the following day.

The cleanroom, which had been used to house a welding robot, was a steel-framed structure with walls and roof constructed of polyurethane panels measuring 6.1 metres in height. Food Process Engineering Limited had been subcontracted to remove the panels as part of the wider dismantling operation.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to adequately assess and manage the risks associated with dismantling a structure it had not originally installed.

The company also failed to communicate its risk assessment and method statement to the employees carrying out the work, meaning workers on site were not adequately informed of the risks involved.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching sections 2(1), 2(a) and (c) and 33(1)(a) and (c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974. It was fined £50,000 with a victim surcharge of £3,750 at Paisley Sheriff Court on 6 July 2026.

HSE inspector Amna Doherty said: “The failings of this company cost a much-loved husband, father and son his life. Falls from height remain the leading cause of workplace death and injury.

“There was a lack of planning in terms of the risk and those being tasked with the job were not aware of the dangers posed to them. We will not hesitate to take action against those who fail to protect their workers.”