Custom Safety Netting
Engineered fall arrest and debris containment net systems — fabricated to project-specific dimensions, mesh specifications, and border rope configurations — installed beneath or around elevated work areas to intercept falling workers, tools, and materials where the geometry, span, or load requirements of the application cannot be served by a standard off-the-shelf net product. Find custom safety netting vendors near you through Scaffold Exchange.
What Is Custom Safety Netting?
Definition: Custom safety netting is a fall protection or debris containment net system fabricated to a buyer-specified shape, size, mesh aperture, cord diameter, border rope configuration, and attachment hardware layout — as opposed to a standard catalog net in a fixed rectangular dimension. The netting is typically manufactured from high-tenacity polypropylene, polyethylene, or nylon cord woven or knotted into a mesh whose impact energy absorption capacity, mesh aperture, and UV and chemical resistance are selected to match the specific hazard the net must address: a personnel fall arrest net must absorb the dynamic energy of a falling worker within specified deflection limits; a debris containment net must intercept specific debris types at specific impact velocities; and a barrier or exclusion net may need to resist a specified wind pressure across a large span without failure. The custom specification allows the net to be designed around the actual geometry and load conditions of the project rather than adapting an off-the-shelf net to conditions it was not designed for.
The need for custom safety netting arises most often on projects where the structure's geometry — curved building facades, irregular plan shapes, large clear spans, sloped surfaces, or non-rectangular openings — prevents standard rectangular net panels from covering the required protection zone without gaps or without forcing net attachment points into locations where the structure cannot carry the required loads. A custom net is fabricated to the exact plan shape of the protection zone, with border rope lengths and attachment point spacings matched to the anchor locations available on the structure, eliminating the field modification, lacing, and improvisation that adapting a standard net to a non-standard geometry requires.
Custom safety netting is also specified when the project's load requirements — personnel fall arrest energy, debris impact rating, or wind pressure — exceed the certified performance of standard catalog nets, or when the application requires a specific combination of properties — such as a net that is simultaneously impact-rated for personnel fall arrest and fine enough in mesh aperture to contain small debris — that no standard product provides. Through Scaffold Exchange, you can find vendors across the U.S. who design and fabricate custom safety netting and compare their specifications, lead times, and availability for your project.
How Custom Safety Netting Works
Custom safety netting is designed, fabricated, and installed as an engineered system — the net specification, support structure, and installation sequence are developed together as a coordinated fall protection plan rather than selected and installed independently.
Define the Protection Zone & Hazard Profile
The area to be protected — its plan dimensions, shape, and the nature of the hazard to be intercepted (personnel fall, tool drop, debris, wind-driven material) — is defined in detail. For personnel fall arrest nets, the maximum fall height from the work surface to the net and the maximum allowable net deflection below the net attachment plane are calculated to ensure the net arrests a falling worker within the vertical clearance available below the net. For debris nets, the maximum anticipated piece weight and impact velocity are established to determine the required net impact energy rating.
Specify the Net & Commission Fabrication
The net mesh aperture, cord diameter, knotted or knotless construction, border rope size and material, attachment hardware (shackles, rings, or hook assemblies at specified intervals), and the net's plan shape are specified to the netting manufacturer. For personnel fall arrest nets, the specification must comply with ANSI/ASSE Z359.2 or OSHA 1926.502(c) performance requirements. Lead times for custom-fabricated safety nets typically range from two to six weeks depending on the manufacturer's production schedule and the complexity of the specification.
Engineer the Support Structure & Anchor System
The support structure — cables, beams, or scaffold frames from which the net is suspended — and the anchor points on the building or structure are engineered to carry the net's dead load plus the dynamic impact load of a falling worker or debris impact without exceeding the capacity of the anchor points or support members. For personnel fall arrest nets, the support system must be capable of absorbing the net's maximum arresting force — which can be significantly higher than the worker's static weight due to dynamic amplification during the fall arrest event.
Install, Inspect & Maintain the Net
The net is installed by attaching its border rope to the support structure at each specified attachment point, tensioned to minimize sag while maintaining sufficient deflection depth for fall arrest, and inspected for correct attachment, gap-free seams, and border rope integrity before the work above begins. The net is inspected before each work shift and after any event that may have stressed or damaged it — including an actual arrest event, a significant debris load, or a storm — and is retired from service when inspection reveals deterioration that reduces its performance below the certified specification.
Key Specifications & Features of Custom Safety Netting
Custom safety netting is specified by a combination of physical and performance parameters that together define the net's suitability for the specific protection application.
Impact Energy Rating
The maximum kinetic energy the net can absorb in a single impact event without failure — expressed in foot-pounds or joules and measured by standardized drop testing under ANSI/ASSE Z359.2 or equivalent. For personnel fall arrest nets, the energy rating must account for the weight of the heaviest worker and the maximum fall distance to the net, including any dynamic amplification from the net's deflection geometry during arrest.
Mesh Aperture & Cord Diameter
The mesh opening size — typically expressed as the distance between adjacent knots or the clear opening in knotless mesh — and the diameter of the cord from which the mesh is woven. OSHA 1926.502(c) requires that personnel safety net mesh not exceed 6-inch-by-6-inch openings and that the mesh be capable of passing a 6-inch-diameter ball through no individual mesh opening to confirm maximum aperture compliance. Debris nets use finer mesh apertures down to 1 inch or less where small debris must be intercepted.
Knotted vs. Knotless Construction
Knotted nets use individual cord intersections tied with square knots, producing a mesh where the knot is the critical connection between cord segments. Knotless nets weave cord strands through each other without distinct knots, distributing load more evenly across the mesh junction and generally producing a higher strength-to-weight ratio per unit of mesh area. Custom safety nets may use either construction depending on the required mesh aperture, impact rating, and the netting manufacturer's standard production methods.
Border Rope & Attachment Hardware
The high-tensile rope running the full perimeter of the net, to which the net mesh is attached and from which the net's load is transferred to the support structure. Border rope diameter and material are specified to carry the maximum arresting force of the net without elongating beyond the net's design deflection limit. Attachment hardware — shackles, rings, or proprietary hook assemblies — is installed on the border rope at intervals specified to match the support structure's anchor point spacing.
Custom Plan Shape
The defining feature of a custom net versus a catalog net: the net is fabricated in the exact plan shape of the protection zone — rectangular, trapezoidal, triangular, or irregular — with border rope lengths precisely matching the distances between anchor points on the actual structure. This eliminates the gaps, folds, and field modifications that result from fitting a standard rectangular net to a non-rectangular protection zone.
Cord Material & UV / Chemical Resistance
High-tenacity polypropylene is the most common cord material for construction safety nets due to its balance of strength, weight, and UV resistance. Polyester cord offers higher UV resistance and lower elongation for applications with very tight deflection limits. Nylon cord provides greater impact energy absorption per unit weight but is more susceptible to UV degradation. Chemical resistance requirements — for industrial applications where the net is exposed to process chemicals, acids, or solvents — may require polyester or other specialty cord materials.
Common Applications & Job Site Uses
Custom safety netting is specified whenever the project geometry, hazard profile, or performance requirements exceed what a standard catalog net can address without field modification.
Personnel fall arrest nets on construction projects where floor openings, atria, or stair cores have non-rectangular geometries that standard nets cannot cover without gaps
Under bridge and infrastructure work where the net span geometry between available anchor points does not match standard catalog net dimensions
Curved building facade containment netting where the net must follow the arc of the building face rather than spanning in a flat plane
Stadium and arena fall protection where large clear spans and irregular tier geometries require nets fabricated to the specific seating bowl or roof structure geometry
Industrial and petrochemical plant maintenance where net dimensions must fit around process equipment, pipe racks, and structural members that create irregular protection zones
Offshore and marine platform work where wind and salt spray resistance, custom shapes for drilling deck openings, and impact rating for heavy dropped objects require non-standard net specifications
Film, entertainment, and stunt production where custom-sized and custom-rated fall arrest nets are required under performers working at height on non-standard set geometries
Historic building restoration where the net must be configured around the building's unique architectural features and the anchor points must avoid contact with or penetration of historic fabric
Custom Safety Netting vs. Other Fall Protection & Debris Containment Methods
Custom safety netting is the engineered solution for fall protection and debris containment geometries that standard products and passive barriers cannot cover — here is how it compares to the alternatives.
Engineered to project-specific geometry & load
- Fabricated to the exact plan shape and attachment point layout of the protection zone
- Performance certified to the specific impact energy and mesh aperture required
- Eliminates gaps, folds, and field modifications caused by adapting standard nets
- Required when geometry or performance exceeds standard catalog net parameters
Fixed-dimension off-the-shelf nets
- Lower cost and faster availability than custom-fabricated nets
- Fixed rectangular dimensions — require field lacing to fit non-rectangular zones
- Standard impact ratings may not cover all fall heights and worker weights
- Appropriate where the protection zone fits standard net dimensions without modification
Individual worker harness and lanyard
- Protects individual workers — does not protect the area below the worker
- No debris or tool containment — dropped objects still reach the area below
- Requires anchor points rated to 5,000 pounds per worker per OSHA 1926.502(d)
- Preferred where a net cannot be installed; both may be required simultaneously
Passive edge fall prevention
- Prevents workers from reaching the fall hazard — does not arrest a fall in progress
- Cannot protect against falls through floor openings or from irregular elevated edges
- Does not contain debris or tools that fall from the work surface
- First choice for fall prevention; safety netting provides catch protection where guardrails are not feasible
Find Custom Safety Netting Vendors Near You
Use the Scaffold Exchange map to search by location, filter by equipment type, and connect directly with local suppliers who design and fabricate custom safety netting for fall protection and debris containment applications.
Compliance & Site Safety Considerations
Custom personnel fall arrest safety nets used in construction are governed by OSHA 29 CFR 1926.502(c), which establishes the minimum performance requirements for safety nets as a fall protection method. OSHA 1926.502(c) requires that safety nets be installed as close as practicable under the walking and working surface on which workers are working, but never more than 30 feet below that surface; that nets extend at least 8 feet beyond the edge of the work surface where workers can fall; that net mesh not exceed 6-inch-by-6-inch openings and that each mesh opening be capable of containing a 6-inch-diameter ball; that the net be capable of absorbing a drop test impact equivalent to a 400-pound bag of sand dropped from the maximum fall height; and that the net be inspected at least weekly and after any event that could have weakened the net. ANSI/ASSE Z359.2 provides the detailed performance standard for personal fall arrest systems including safety nets, and is the standard against which most custom safety nets are certified by their manufacturers. The support structure — cables, beams, or scaffold from which the net is suspended — must be engineered by a qualified person to carry the maximum dynamic arresting force generated when the net arrests a fall, which can be a multiple of the worker's static weight and must be verified against the anchor point capacity of the building structure before the net is placed in service.
- Net installed as close as practicable below the working surface — never more than 30 feet below per OSHA 1926.502(c)(1)
- Net extends at least 8 feet beyond all edges from which workers could fall into the net per OSHA 1926.502(c)(2)
- Mesh aperture does not exceed 6-inch-by-6-inch openings — no individual mesh opening passes a 6-inch-diameter ball
- Net certified to absorb the drop test impact equivalent to a 400-pound sand bag at the maximum fall height per OSHA 1926.502(c)(4)
- Support structure engineered by a qualified person to carry the maximum dynamic arresting force without exceeding anchor point capacity
- Net inspected at least weekly and after any impact event, storm, or condition that may have weakened the net or its attachments
- Materials and tools fallen into the net removed as soon as possible — accumulated load in the net must not approach the net's rated capacity
- Net retired from service after arresting a fall — inspected by the manufacturer or a qualified person before any reuse is considered