Representatives from the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the new Stephen M. Ross School of Business construction site following the death of a worker. David Smith, a 31-year-old elevator mechanic died after falling five stories down an empty elevator shaft at about 6:30 a.m. last Monday.

Despite CPR and resuscitation attempts made by co-workers and medical technicians, Smith, who went by his middle name Jeff, was pronounced dead at the University Medical Center about 15 minutes after the fall.

Smith lived in Jackson and is survived by his parents.

Construction resumed Tuesday, but University Police and the MIOSHA will look for possible violations of the MIOSHA safety code over the next several weeks.

Wes Cotter, a spokesperson for Gilbane Construction, part of the Gilbane-Clark joint venture that manages the project, said he was confident that Gilbane-Clark was not at fault for Smith's death.

"No one should misinterpret the fact that there's a rigorous safety system in place and that this is very unusual," Cotter said. "We're investigating exactly what happened that led up to him stepping into the elevator shaft."

University Police spokesperson Diane Brown said that Smith's fall "sounds like it was simply an accident."

Smith's death comes seven months after the February death of masonry worker Leo Felty, 32, who fell 38 feet from a scaffold on the Skanska USA Building construction site for the University’s Museum of Art.

Brown said that the deaths are "very, very different" and should not be associated with each other.

In the investigation of Felty's death, MIOSHA found that Skanska neglected to install guardrails and extend planks on the scaffolding in its haste to finish the project. It was fined $62,000.

Bob Pawlowski, the director of MIOSHA, said that construction site deaths more often than not involve safety standard oversights.

"Occasionally we do investigate where there are no violations of MIOSHA standards, but frankly that's pretty rare," he said. "Usually we do find issues related to safety and health, things that could have prevented it, violations of standards."

According to MIOSHA, falls are the No. 1 cause of death on construction sites in Michigan.

The University Department of Architecture, Engineering and Construction oversees all University construction hiring, project design and building.

"Worker safety is one of the highest priorities for University of Michigan construction projects," AEC executive director Marina Roelofs said in a written statement. "The thoughts and prayers of the University and project team members are with his family and friends."

Cotter said that Smith was a subcontracted worker from Schindler Elevator Company who befriended workers on the site while moving them and their equipment from floor to floor throughout the day.

"There are about one hundred guys on the site," Cotter said. "Everybody knew him, everybody feels terrible."