Helipad safety net, AIIMS New Delhi

AIIMS New Delhi has a helipad on a hospital rooftop. A rooftop helipad needs a safety net around its edge, to catch anyone who slips, or is pushed off balance by rotor downwash, near the edge. Acier supplied and installed the net in 2018.

The net sits at the edge of a working helipad. It faces rotor downwash, sun and monsoon rain, and it must take the impact of a falling person. It has to be strong, yet open enough that pilots and ground crew can see through it and that wind passes through rather than loading it like a sail. The site is also a major hospital, where the work must fit around a live, critical facility.

The net is Jakob Webnet in Ø3 mm stainless rope with a 100 mm mesh width. This is a standard helipad specification: the Ø3 mm rope gives strength, and the 100 mm mesh keeps the net easy to see through and lets wind pass.

The mesh is laced to the steel frame with Ø4 mm rope. Lacing spreads the load along the frame rather than concentrating it at a few points, and it holds the net taut. Stainless steel needs no painting and suits a rooftop exposed to sun and rain, where maintenance access is limited and every visit to the roof edge has to be planned.

The helipad now has a stainless safety net along its edge that is strong, open and low-maintenance. Crews keep a clear view of the roof edge, and the net needs little attention between inspections. The same specification suits other rooftop helipads, including hospitals and commercial towers.