There is a popular conception that most construction fatalities occur on Mondays and Fridays - but the statistics don't bear this out.

Monday and Wednesday had an almost identical number of fatal construction events, 148 and 146, respectively, and Friday had the fewest number of fatal events, 96, when weekends are excluded.

Because the total number of construction hours worked each day is not known, "it is not possible to conclude that any one day is more or less hazardous than another," said the report, released in March by the University of Tennessee

The two-hour periods before and after the noon hour contained the most fatal events - 151 and 157, respectively - but it is not possible to calculate hourly event rates.

Falls from roofs or from a structure continued to be the top two causes of construction fatalities among 707 cases investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration during 2003.

"The same things are killing people year to year to year," said William Schriver, research director at the Construction Industry Research and Policy Center. For the last 13 years, the center has had a contract to analyze information from the Form 170 forms filled out by OSHA compliance officers after a construction workplace fatality.

The category of fall from/through roof accounted for 76 deaths or 10.7 percent of the total fatalities. A second category of falls - fall from/with structure - was the second most common cause of a construction fatality in 2003. These incidents, which can include building collapse deaths and falling through a floor, but not through a floor opening, accounted for 74 deaths, or 10.5 percent of the total.

The third leading cause of fatal construction events in 2003 was a worker being crushed or run over by construction equipment operated by someone else (56 or 7.9 percent).

Electrocution by equipment contacting wire, such as a crane or ladder touching an overhead electric line, was the fourth most common event (47 deaths or 6.6 percent). The fifth most common cause of a fatal event in construction was electric shock from equipment installation/tool use (43 or 6.1 percent). Sixth place was taken by trench collapses (41 or 5.8 percent).

The rankings have changed little over time, Schriver said. Work that is dangerous--such as being on a roof or in a trench-remains dangerous.

"It's a very stable relationship," he said.

More construction fatalities are occurring in some settings or with certain equipment because of the way construction work is changing, Schriver said. He cited the increased use of cranes and aerial lifts, as well as the growth in construction and maintenance of communication towers.

By reading the compliance officer reports, the researchers have found that a lack of training on how to operate equipment can be associated with fatalities involving vehicles from forklifts to heavy-duty construction equipment.

The rate of fatal construction events per 100,000 construction workers was 10.5 in 2003. The rate has remained fairly constant over the last 13 years.

The number of fatalities has been on an upward trend since 1991, though the report noted, employment in construction has also increased.

(The above information was researched by the University of Tennessee and excerpted from the BNA, Inc., the Occupational Safety and Health Reporter).