The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined two companies for safety violations that led to the deaths of two workers at a Portland, OR area music festival.

OSHA launched an investigation and issued $31,000 in fines to Pickathon LLC and GuildWorks LLC after two workers died at the Pickathon Music Festival in August in a lift accident on August 8, 2019. Guildworks was the subcontractor to Pickathon.

Brandon Blackmore and Brad Swet were in a boom lift taking down an installation after the festival was over. The lift was on an incline when it tilted and fell, and they were both killed. The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said that they were wearing safety equipment and were roped to the boom lift.

“It is an employer’s responsibility to make sure that safety rules are followed for the very purpose of protecting workers from such tragedies,” said Michael Wood, administrator for Oregon OSHA. “This is a time to pause and remember that two people died, leaving behind family and friends. And it is a time to remind ourselves that this accident was entirely preventable.”

The two alarm devices on the boom lift had been disabled. Each company was fined $12,500 for disabling the alarms which is a serious violation. One device would sound an alarm warning against operating the machine on uneven terrain. The other would stop the upward motion of the platform if an employee became pinned between an overhead obstruction and the platform’s railing and controls. OSHA also fined GuildWorks $6,000 for not following the manufacturer’s operating and maintenance instructions. The instructions were to not raise the boom on an uneven surface, not moving the machine when the boom was extended and while the machine was stationed on a sloped surface, and not putting the boom in a raised position while the counterweight is located on the downward side of a slope.

The agency said that Pickathon and Guildworks had “a history of failing to follow proper safety procedures”. They will not receive the normal reduction in the penalty typically granted to small employers. The two companies have set up a fundraiser for the families of the men.

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