The 32-year-old man suffered scald burns to 8% of his body as a result of the incident but has since been able to make a full recovery.
Following an investigation, O-I Glass Limited pleaded guilty to one charge following the incident at its Glasshouse Loan site in Alloa on 3 February 2024.
The global glass bottle manufacturer employs around 500 people at the site in Alloa, where it continually operates furnaces that are used to smelt raw materials.
On the day of the incident, the worker had been operating a shovel loader, clearing the waste molten glass and hot water from the basement floor. However, there was no protective door on the cab of the vehicle, so some of that material spilled from the bucket onto him.
When it was first provided for use, the loader was fitted with a protective door incorporating a glass window, in front of the cab. However, an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive established that the protective door had been missing since March 2022.
The protective door had been removed after the vehicle was damaged, and although this was reported to the site engineer at the time, no action was taken to replace it. In the almost two years that followed other operatives had reported being struck or having footwear burnt by molten glass falling into the cab.
Following the incident the company removed the vehicle from service, returning it in June 2024 after fitting it with a steel front door that incorporated a glass window with protective wire mesh.
O-I Glass pleaded guilty to Regulation 5 (1) of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and section 33(1) of Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to maintain the vehicle in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. The company was fined £600,000 at Stirling Sheriff Court on 23 September 2025.
Speaking after the fine was issued, HSE inspector Kathy Gostick said: “This was an avoidable ordeal for a young worker. It is sheer luck he has been able to recover from his serious injuries.
“This company’s employees worked in this environment with a safety critical part of the loader missing for a period of almost two years.
“Although the protective front door had been removed and reported to the on-site engineer, drivers had continued to work and operate the loader with it missing.
“Some operatives even described being struck or having footwear burnt by molten glass falling into the cab as a result.
“When work equipment is being selected, its suitability for the environment it is going to be used in must be risk assessed. In this case the protective door was not suitable to protect against impacts from hot and molten glass and therefore was often broken and in the end never replaced. Had an appropriate door been selected and maintained in place this accident would not have occurred.”
