The death Wednesday of an ironworker who fell 46 floors is the first such fatal industrial accident this year but highlights the commonplace nature of accidental falls at construction sites, officials said.

Frank Montayre Jr., a 52-year-old ironworker, died after he slipped and fell while caulking a window at the Moana Pacific condominium project on Kapi'olani Boulevard. Montayre's son, a painter, was working at the site when his father fell.

The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has opened a formal investigation into the fall, and an investigator was at the Moana Pacific site yesterday, said James P. Hardway, department spokesman. Hardway declined to say whether or not Montayre was tied off before he fell, citing an ongoing investigation.

State law requires employers to provide safety equipment for workers when construction work is performed at heights of more than 6 feet.

Each year, there are roughly 4,900 injuries at construction and industrial sites that require emergency room treatment, 41 percent of which are the result of a fall, according to the state Health Department. Between 1991 and 2005, 72 people died in Hawai'i as the result of an injury at a construction or industrial site, 28 of them related to falls.

An official with a local trade union said workers are not always at fault in construction accidents.

"We wholeheartedly support our contractors to make sure the job sites are as safe as possible, but even under the best circumstances a construction site is a very hazardous place," said Ron Taketa, chairman of the Hawai'i Carpenters Union.

Since 2005, Labor Department officials, contractors and construction unions have run a statewide effort to urge employees to follow safety procedures and regulations when working at heights above 6 feet.

The campaign, entitled "Tie Off — It's Your Life," features four 30-second television commercials, radio spots, a free-fall-protection training video and banners and advertisements at shopping centers and University of Hawai'i sporting events.

Violations of fall-protection regulations make up the No. 1 cause of citations issued by state safety officials.

Between January 2004 and December 2006, the Hawai'i Occupational Safety and Health division issued 434 fall-related citations to employers — along with fines that ranged from $1,500 to $70,000.

Employees are not cited for violations; employers are. Once a citation has been issued, an employer is required to conduct training sessions, issue warnings and post safety banners around the job site.

Fined employers are also required to hire an outside consultant to review and amend their safety plan.

"If an employee forgets to wear a hat or a tie-off, it is the employer who gets fined, so it's up to the employer to motivate employees to tie off," said Hardway. "We've been giving a lot of citations the last couple of years for fall protection, and you have to find a way to get the employee to realize it is time to tie off."

Of the 28 fatal falls between 1991 and 2005, 11 were from roofs, four from other building elevations, seven from ladders and two from scaffolding.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.