Fatal accidents involving construction workers in Michigan took another jump up in 2001, as 28 construction workers were killed on the job, according to figures released by the state Department of Consumer and Industry Services (CIS).

That number is a slight improvement over the years of 1997 when there were 34 deaths; 1998 (29 deaths), and 1997 (34 deaths). In 2000, there was a drop to 23 deaths, and hope that a downward trend was beginning, but the fatality numbers rose again.

Top MIOSHA representatives have told contractors that there's better news on the construction injury front, although the 2002 numbers weren't available at press time. The construction injury rate dropped six straight years through 2000, one MIOSHA rep told the Michigan AGC, that "statistical people will tell you that (injury rates are) much more of an indicator of what we're doing in Michigan than fatalities" because fatality rates tend to go up and down in an unpredictable pattern.

In 2000, MIOSHA performed 4,127 inspections on construction sites using 20 field inspectors. At the top of the list of citations were contractors who had inadequate accident prevention programs.

Workers were much less safe on the job before OSHA came into existence in 1970 and MIOSHA was started up in 1974. In the 1960s, an average of 44 construction workers were killed on the job every year.