LANSING – Ten construction workers in Michigan died on the job in 2009, an historic low since MIOSHA has kept count since the agency came into existence in 1974.

There were 15 construction workers fatalities on the job in 2008, compared to 11 in 2007. In the last two decades in Michigan the single-year high was 37 construction fatalities in 1997.

“The incidents of both construction injuries and fatalities are headed in the right direction – down,” said Patty Meyer, safety manager for the MIOSHA Construction Safety and Health Division. “I think what we’re seeing are the effects of a slower economy and less work, yes, but we’re also seeing that our cooperative programs with contractors, associations and unions are really working.”

Falls and electrocutions are usually the leading cause of fatalities for construction workers. In 2009 in Michigan, the causes of fatalities included three “crushed-bys” (often trench cave-ins), as well as two falls, two electrocutions, two “struck-bys” and one explosion.

Meyer said the lower fatality numbers in construction in 2009 are mirrored by the lower injury rates in recent years. While 2009 construction injury/illness rates are not yet available, the trend in recent years has seen declining numbers. There were 4.4 recordable injury/illness cases per 200,000 workers in construction in Michigan in 2008, which represented an 11 percent decrease from 2004.

“There’s just an overall improvement in construction safety and health,” Meyer said. “Last year 39 percent of our construction safety inspections resulted in no violations – that’s excellent.”

Meyer said there are a variety of safety awareness programs, as well as partnerships in place. The Michigan Volunteer Protection Program for Construction partners MIOSHA with major contractors around the state. Those contractors that show a commitment to worker safety meet strict record-keeping and safety criteria, and will eventually be allowed to be exempt from safety inspections on the job.

The MIOSHA Training Institute, together with Macomb Community College, has educated 4,000 workers and employers on advancing on-the-job safety and health. The state Associated General Contractors, the Construction Association of Michigan and a number of unions have partnered with MIOSHA to deliver targeted safety training.

Meyer said MIOSHA is also working with employers under a program called “Protecting Workers in Tough Times,” by allowing employers to get a reduced fine when safety problems are uncovered in exchange for abating those problems quickly.

“We’re trying to work with contractors and help them to do what’s right,” Meyer said. “These cooperative programs really work, and I think it raises the level of safety awareness on jobsites.”

Started in 1974, MIOSHA has saved construction workers’ lives: In the 1960s, an average of 44 Michigan construction workers were killed on the job every year.