Construction companies are being warned to take care when using cherry pickers following a Consett firm's fine after a worker's head was trapped between the basket of a cherrypicker and a steel rail on a project in Newcastle.

The 20-year-old from Consett (who does not want to be named), was a trainee steel erector for Crossgill Construction Ltd when the incident happened on 21 February 2013.

He had been helping to install cladding rails to a building extension at a site in Walker Riverside. He had just installed a fifth rail when the bottom of the basket of the cherrypicker became lodged on the steel rail below. It then came loose, causing it to shoot upwards, trapping him between the basket rail and the newly-installed steel rail above.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Crossgill Construction Ltd for safety failings after investigating the incident. The case was heard by Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on 2 December.

The Court found that Crossgill Construction Ltd had failed to plan and manage properly the risks from erecting the cladding rails. The company pleaded guilty to the offence.

The court was told by HSE that the steelwork had been stored on the ground outside the main frame of the extension, which prevented the cherrypickers from being positioned outside the frame.

The rails were raised into position by being lifted, unsecured, on the basket of one of the cherrypickers and then rested, again unsecured, on cleats on the steel frame. The workers had to move their cherrypickers into a position that enabled them to bolt the rails into place.

The company had failed to consider the risks of workers being trapped or crushed between the basket of the cherrypickers and other objects and had failed to identify measures to avoid that risk as a result.

Crossgill Construction Ltd, of Front Street, Castleside, Consett, was fined £6,000 for breaching Regulation 13(2) of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007. The company was also ordered to pay £865.30 costs.

Speaking after the case, HSE inspector Andrea Robbins said: “This incident could easily have been prevented if both cherrypickers had been positioned outside the frame of the extension.

“Instead, a young worker was badly injured and could have been killed because Crossgill Construction Ltd failed to plan and manage the work to ensure it was carried out safely.

“When used safely, mobile elevated work platforms (or cherrypickers) can significantly reduce the risk of injuries from falls from height, but in recent years there has been a significant number of incidents in which workers have been crushed against fixtures or other obstacles, including several fatalities.

“Extra care therefore needs to be taken if such equipment is used to manoeuvre through several layers of steelwork as there is a risk of the operator being trapped should the boom or basket strike the frame.”

For more information about working in the construction industry safely visit the HSE website at the  address below.