Scaffold Netting is Worth the Investment and Here's Why

What is Scaffold Netting?

Scaffold netting is a heavy duty mesh material that is designed to prevent dropped items or debris. It comes on a roll, similar to a roll of replacement screen used for windows. These rolls are typically 4' to 6' x 150' in length. 

It's main purpose is to protect those working at ground level. It protects them from tools that might slip from your control or all sorts of falling materials. As long as whatever falls is inside the perimeter of the scaffold deck this netting will stop it from falling to the ground. It's strong enough to sustain a fairly hard hit and still maintain its integrity.

On most job sites OSHA requires that safety netting be installed from the top handrail down to deck level. Especially if you plan on stacking material higher then the top edge of your toe board. This will ensure that anyone working below is protected if something should happen to fall. 

My primary source of income is building scaffolds at Nuclear plants and this is a required component for build completion. It's also the last line of defense in dropped item prevention. On site we use Pearlweave. 

How is debris netting Installed?

Installation of debris netting is pretty simple. Once the scaffold is completed and the toe board has been installed, its time for the Pearlweave. 

This is best handled with zip ties!

Netting is first zip tied to the top rail and then nailed to the wood toe board. On rare occasions we use aluminum toe board we will zip tie it to the toe board as well. If possible start at the swing gate and work your way around. Clockwise or counter clockwise it makes no difference. Whichever you're comfortable with. Zip ties are usually spaced about 1 1/2 to 2 foot apart.

Once the netting is zip tied to the top handrail, go back and nail it to the toe board. Nails are usually spaced similar to the zip ties. Roll the netting up to the top of the toe board to make it taunt, then nail it down. If the installation was a success you should now have a barrier around the individual working on the deck.

Why is safety Netting worth the investment?

The most obvious reason you should invest in safety netting is for the safety of those around the scaffold. No one can predict when something is going to fall. I've seen even the most seasoned builders make mistakes and drop something.

20 pounds is not a lot but when it's dropped from 20 foot it can do a significant amount of damage. In the nuke industry we build at heights in excess of 50 to 60 ft. Having a good dropped item prevention strategy for the work groups that will be using our scaffolds is critical.

It's much cheaper then an accident would cost you should something happen. So it's really cost effective.

For example.

You can purchase a roll for as low as 100$. Just doing a bit of arithmetic here. A standard scaffold bought online or at Home Depot is 3' x 6'. That's 18' of netting to secure the deck. There's usually 150' per roll. Take that 150 divided by 18' and you can do roughly 8 scaffold decks. 100$ divided by 8 puts you at $12.50 per deck.

So you have to ask yourself. Is it worth risking the safety of others or possibly run the risk of property damage over $13 bucks?

You can check out one of those inexpensive rolls of safety netting Here!