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PHW · Working at height · 2026-07-06

Food Process Engineering Limited fined £50,000 after a worker was ejected from a scissor lift when walls collapsed

Renfrew · Paisley Sheriff Court

What happened

A worker was ejected from a scissor lift when wall panels collapsed during the dismantling of a steel-framed cleanroom structure. The company had failed to provide the lateral support props specified in its own method statement and had not properly communicated the hazards to the workers involved.

Injuries: Traumatic brain injury, rib fractures, lung contusions and leg fractures; died in hospital the following day

The breach

Sections 2(1), 2(a), 2(c), 33(1)(a) and 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

The sentence

  • Fine: £50,000
HSE inspector

“Falls from height remain the leading cause of workplace death and injury. There was a lack of planning in terms of the risk.”

What would have prevented it

A method statement's own control measures, such as lateral support props, must actually be installed and their absence must not go unchallenged by the workers on site.

How PHW helps

The machines, packs and quizzes that fit this kind of site.

Sector

Training and H&S evidence for construction sites

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Machine

MEWP: scissor (3a)

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Quiz

Could you show a site manager today, in writing, that each operator is authorised to use your machines?

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Source: HSE press release, Worker killed after wall panels collapsed during cleanroom dismantling