Falls continue to be a major problem in the residential construction industry and account for a large number of injuries and fatalities each year (US Department of Labor, 2012).  The effects of a fall are catastrophic to the workers and their families as well as the construction company and surrounding community.  Prevention of these incidents has been the primary focus of organizations such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).  To reduce the number of falls on residential construction sites, OSHA has put forth several standards that require the use of fall protection.  Although guidelines have been provided, there have been concerns and complaints regarding the standards as well as methods and materials that should be used. The goal of this research was to measure the behavior of a five truss roof system with various anchor points and bracing configurations loaded by a horizontal force.  A lab built roof system was used to test three different anchor types with three forms of temporary bracing.  The materials and methodology used in this testing were based on common materials and practices currently used in the residential construction industry. The results of this research show that anchors must engage multiple trusses to spread the applied load throughout the roof system.  Several forms of temporary bracing such as lateral, diagonal, and sway bracing, are also required to strengthen the roof system allowing it to withstand an applied load. / Master of Science

In 2012, falls from elevation in construction industry represented 36% of the total fatalities. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires workers to use fall protection systems where workers are 6 feet or more above a lower level. Anchors for fall protection systems attached to roof trusses may cause out-of-plane loading on these structures. Metal plate connected wood trusses (MPCWT) are not designed to carry out-of-plane loads and MPCWT performance under these loads are not evaluated in the design process. The goal of this research is to model and analyze MPCWT assemblies under out-of-plane loads. The rotational stiffness of truss-wall connections, and truss bracing elements are included in the structural component model. Previous experimental data of fall arrest anchor loading were used for model validation. A parametric study considering loading location, joint stiffness and dimension of trusses was conducted. The structural analog of the MPCWT assemblies were found to have first truss deflections within 4% difference, thereby the models were validated. From parametric study results, the load location was not changed the ultimate deflection in the truss assembly by maximum value of 9%. Out-of-plane joint stiffness was the parameter that caused a large difference in the deflection results, when the joists were assumed as either rigid or simple connections. The rotational stiffness of lateral and diagonal bracing should be included as model inputs for the accurate representation of experimental behavior. Truss lengths increased the deflection at the top chord of the first truss in the assembly as truss width increased. / Master of Science