JOINT INDUSTRY GUIDANCE

HELIDECK PERIMETER SAFETY NETS

1. PURPOSE

This guidance has been published by UKOOA in response to a helideck perimeter safety net failure
on a UK offshore installation resulting in serious injury to personnel. The document was prepared by
a joint industry working group comprising aviation, safety and materials specialists from UKOOA
member companies, Health & Safety Executive and the Helideck Certification Agency (formerly
BHAB Helidecks).

2. OBJECTIVES

 To provide guidance that reflects best industry practice for design, fabrication and testing of
helideck perimeter safety nets to assure that they remain fit for purpose.

 To provide guidance to industry when undertaking perimeter safety net replacement, inspection
and maintenance.

 To provide an alternative means of compliance to eliminate the need for in–situ testing of
helideck perimeter safety nets on offshore installations.

3. GUIDANCE FOR HELIDECK PERIMETER SAFETY NET DESIGN, FABRICATION AND TESTING

a. Introduction

The design of helideck perimeter safety nets on offshore installations covers a wide range of
different supporting structures, net support frame arrangements, netting materials and fixing
methods.

To achieve best industry practice this guidance should be applied during the repair and / or
modification of existing helideck perimeter safety net arrangements and to all new offshore
helideck designs. Information given in the following references should be considered in
conjunction with, and supplemented by, this additional guidance.

b. References

 CAA / ICAO requirements for offshore helideck perimeter safety net systems are set out in
th
Chapter 3, Section 9 of the 5 Edition of CAP 437, dated August 2005.

 Section 9.10.3 of the HSE Offshore Helideck Design Guidelines, Issue 1 June 2004 provides
greater detail and supplements CAP 437 requirements.

 HSE Safety Notice 7 / 2005 (issue date: September 2005) sets out the testing of perimeter
safety nets and relevant legal requirements.

 Section 12 and Addendum 12, Section 9 of UKOOA Guidelines for the Management of
Offshore Helideck Operations, Issue 5 February 2005 sets out inspection and maintenance
considerations.

 UKOOA Safety Alert No: HSSE/HSE/SA/2005-0001 provides information about immediate

controls and further actions to prevent a recurrence of the accident resulting from a helideck
perimeter safety net failure.

c. Support Structures

 A safety net support assembly and its fixings to the helideck primary structure should be
designed to withstand the static load of the whole support structure, the netting system and

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any attached appendages (e.g. NDB antenna) plus a 125 kg load imposed on any section of
the netting system (equivalent to a body falling onto the net from helideck level).

d. Netting System

Once installed, current perimeter safety net designs are often difficult to maintain and may be
inaccessible for testing. Ideally, a perimeter safety net system should be designed so that it is
divided into manageable sections that can be easily retracted or lifted inboard (hinged or
removable) to permit maintenance and panel replacement from the helideck surface, without
requiring external access (e.g. scaffolding or abseilers).

Experience has clearly shown that any netting system employed in the offshore marine
environment should have a finite life applied to ensure that it retains its capability to arrest and
restrain a falling person without breaking and without causing injury.

Designers should therefore place an operational life on a netting assembly that is consistent with
the materials used. The recommended component „life‟ should be validated using manufacturers
and other test data, subject to specified periodic (e.g. weekly) visual condition inspection for
deterioration due to physical or other damage (e.g. corrosion).

In the case of infrequently visited Normally Unattended Installations (NUI‟s) periodic inspections
may be impractical. In this case duty holders should arrange to visually inspect condition at the
start of each visit and, if manned for an extended period, weekly thereafter.

For existing netting systems on offshore installations, at the first opportunity duty holders should
consider the above criteria and apply an “interim” component life having carried out a thorough
physical condition inspection and obtained suitable data (e.g. representative net sample testing)
to verify the findings. The age and specification of existing netting systems should be taken fully
into account when concluding that an “interim” life can safely be applied.

New netting should be purchased such that its anticipated rate of deterioration can be assessed
and predicted against the minimum allowable residual strength (e.g. use of test panels as
described above, and using BS EN ISO 1806).

At the end of its life a netting system should provide a minimum pull - through energy criterion of
2.3 kJ as per BS EN 1263 and for metal netting, an equivalent mesh tensile / ageing coefficient;
plus any additional allowance made to cover replacement timescale (say one year). The
manufacturer should certify the “expected life” of the netting product and recommend the interim
inspection periods and methodology.

Note: The above figure of 2.3 kJ equates to 125 kg dropped 1 metre with a Safety Factor of 2.
As a comparison, if a net is purchased new with, say, a 6 kJ energy value this is approximately
125 kg x Safety Factor of 5. As netting deteriorates its performance will naturally decline. This
guidance gives the minimum level to which net performance should be allowed to fall.

e. Materials Selection

Support Structures and Fixings

Selection of material type and the sections used for supporting structures and fixings remains
the choice of the designer but should be compatible with the netting and framing systems
employed.

Netting, Framing Systems and fixings

Any netting or mesh material (e.g. nylon or polypropylene fibre, steel cable or plastic coated
steel mesh) may be considered suitable providing it retains sufficient strength and elasticity to
withstand the imposed loads.

Netting systems should also be selected for their suitability for extended operations in a marine
environment and should take full account of chemical compositions that may cause deterioration

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when exposed to ultra violet (UV) light and other factors such as fire fighting foam compounds
(e.g. AFFF).

Methods of net construction should include a proven system (e.g. mesh crossings, edge
attachments, restraining ferrules, etc.) which ensures that localised damage does not render the
whole panel unserviceable.

Methods of net attachment to the framing system should ensure continued security of the netting
and, in the event of damage to a portion of the attachment system, the net panel remains fit for
purpose.

f. Testing

Offshore Testing

Dynamic testing of perimeter safety nets should not be undertaken offshore.

Duty Holders may wish to consider installing sacrificial panels of selected netting material into
the perimeter net system that can easily be removed periodically (say, annually) to permit
onshore testing. When removed, sacrificial panels should not alter effectiveness of the main
panel restraint system.

Onshore Testing

Testing the netting materials (e.g. pull test for polypropylene rope and other fibres or other
appropriate test methods for wire mesh systems) and representative panels of safety netting
(e.g. tests to include the netting fixing systems) should be conducted by an approved testing
facility (e.g. NATLAS or equivalent certified testing laboratory) using an approved test method
(e.g. BS EN ISO 1806) for the subject material. A description of the material specification, testing
protocol and qualification should accompany the results of each series of tests that have been
performed.

4. INSPECTION & MAINTENANCE

A programme of offshore inspection, maintenance and replacement (at end of service life)
should be established for helideck perimeter safety nets.

The programme should include routine visual examinations and reporting of deterioration and
damage prior to helideck operations. Also, practical and clear parameters should be laid down
for determining when a section of perimeter net is deemed to be unserviceable and no longer fit
for purpose.

Duty Holders may wish to consider using a panel “tagging” and register system to assist with
traceability of each section of the perimeter safety net system.

5. VERIFICATION

On behalf of Air Operator Certificate Holders (helicopter operators) the Helideck Certification
Agency (HCA), formerly BHAB Helidecks, is responsible for ensuring that helidecks comply with
the requirements set out in the Air Navigation Order (CAP 393).

Offshore Duty Holders are therefore required to satisfy the HCA and their installation Verification
Bodies (e.g. DNv, Lloyds Register) that compliance with this guidance can be demonstrated.

Irrespective of the previous drop testing results achieved on existing polypropylene perimeter
safety nets that have been in service for more than one year, if the condition of the net materials
and net fixing systems cannot be properly verified in accordance with this guidance then
arrangements should immediately be put in place to replace the helideck perimeter netting
system.

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Similarly, existing perimeter safety nets constructed from materials other than polypropylene
(e.g. wire meshes) and the net fixing systems should be subject to close visual examination
appropriate to the materials of construction. If the condition of net materials cannot be properly
verified in accordance with this guidance then arrangements should immediately be put in place
to replace the helideck perimeter netting system.

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