Scaffold Design Made Simple: AIPs, Engineering & What You Need to Know | Alejandro Garcia

In this episode of The Scaffolding Industry Podcast, I sit down with Alejandro Garcia to talk about scaffold design, scaffold engineering, AIPs and how scaffolders can better understand the engineering behind the structures they build every day. Recorded live at ScaffEx 2026, the conversation came just a few days after Alejandro had delivered a face-to-face scaffold design training course in Manchester, where he was also recording new training modules. Alejandro has spent years trying to make scaffold design easier to understand. His approach is simple: Take engineering. Remove the unnecessary jargon. Explain it in a way scaffolders can actually use. A big part of our conversation was around AIPs — Approvals in Principle. So what exactly is an AIP? And when does a scaffold actually need one? An AIP can form part of the technical approval process for certain structures, particularly where scaffolding affects highways, bridges, infrastructure or other authority-controlled assets. Importantly, not every designed scaffold automatically requires an AIP. The requirement depends on the structure, location, asset owner and Technical Approval Authority involved. We also spoke about scaffold design training and some of the subjects Alejandro teaches, including: • Scaffold design • Scaffold engineering • Approval in Principle (AIP) • Temporary works design • Scaffold calculations • Loads and reactions • Wind loads • Stability • Bending moments • Highway scaffolding • Technical approvals • Scaffold design training • ScaffEx 2026 One of the things I like about Alejandro’s approach is that he tries to make scaffold engineering understandable to the people actually building the scaffolds. Because if you understand the scaffold physically, you are probably already further along with design than you think. FIND OUT MORE & CONNECT 👤 Alejandro Garcia on LinkedIn   / alejandrogarciaengineer   📚 Alejandro Garcia Scaffold Design Newsletter https://alejandrogarcia.kit.com/newsl... 🛣️ National Highways – Scaffold Guard Structures Guidance https://nationalhighways.co.uk/media/... 🏙️ City of London – Technical Approval for Highway Structures https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/servi... 🎪 ScaffEx 2026 https://nasc.org.uk/ems-event-calenda... 🎙️ The Scaffolding Industry Podcast https://www.myvertex.org/podcasts/the... 🍎 Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast... 🔵 Vertex Training & Consultancy https://www.myvertex.org/ 👋 Isaac Morrison on LinkedIn   / isaac-morrison-671a1763   --- THE SCAFFOLDING INDUSTRY PODCAST Real conversations with the people shaping scaffolding, access and temporary works. If you work in scaffolding, temporary works, scaffold design or construction, subscribe and join the conversation. Do you actually know when a scaffold needs an AIP? #ScaffEx26 #ItHasToBeNASC #Scaffolding #Scaffolders #TSIP #Podcast