An employee died after falling into a tank of water heated to 76°c while working at a catering equipment cleaning company.
The man's employers, Pan Glo, have been fined £200,000 as a result of serious safety breaches.
The fatal incident occurred on January 8, 2018 at the company's plant in Skelmersdale, Lancashire.
The worker was standing on the lid of a covered tank when it gave way, Lancs Live reported.
He was pulled from the hot water by a colleague and taken to hospital but had sustained burns covering 37% burns of his body.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that the company Pan Glo (UK) Ltd, previously known as Cleanbake Ltd, had failed to carry out risk assessments or develop written systems of work for any maintenance to the tank line.
There was no instruction about what should or shouldn’t be done when access to the restricted rear area was necessary, including whether it was acceptable to walk across the tops and lids of the tanks.
This resulted in employees routinely accessing the area in this way, placing themselves at significant risk and which subsequently led to the man's death.
At Preston Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, Pan Glo (UK) Ltd, of Seddon Place, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The company was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,597.17.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE principal inspector Helen Jones said: “This was a tragic incident, and our thoughts remain with the family involved.
"The death of this man could easily have been prevented had the company acted to identify and manage the risks involved, and to put a safe system of work in place.”
