Francisco Díaz Pisano

Profile

Structural engineer and project manager at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden with nine years certifying scaffolding and temporary works: 10+ complete systems certified to EN 12810 and EN 12811 as a third party independent of the manufacturer, at an accredited institute, for manufacturers across Europe and Asia. Non-linear finite element analysis in Abaqus together with full-scale testing — 3–5 laboratory campaigns a year — and each project run end to end, from the first enquiry to a certificate published on the RISE website, budget included: around 2 MSEK (≈ €175k) a year. Dual MSc (Universidade da Coruña, Chalmers University of Technology). I automate the recurring calculation and reporting work in Python, increasingly with LLM assistance.

Experience

1. Project Manager & Structural Engineer

   RISE Research Institutes of Sweden

   Apr 2017 – Present · Borås, Sweden

   1. EN 74 certification, manuals and process automation

      Since Apr 2025

      • Extended the scope to testing and certification of scaffolding couplers and connections to EN 74-1/-2/-3, and to the assessment of manufacturers' assembly and use manuals — the manual leaves the project corrected to the standard, as part of the certificate.
      • Automating the recurring calculation and reporting work in Python, on a long-term plan of my own initiative: the repetitive part of each report is produced from the project data instead of by hand.
      • LLM-assisted automation (GPT, Claude) on top of that work, as support for building the tools themselves — alongside Abaqus, never a substitute for calculation.

      AbaqusEN 74PythonClaude Code

   2. System certification and Swedish scaffolding regulations

      Since Apr 2021

      • Took on the assessment of complete systems against the Swedish work-environment regulation AFS 2013:4 and the Norwegian Produsentforskriften, alongside the scaffolding standards; conformity of every component in the system — dimensions, material quality, safety and connectivity — and the drafting of the certificates themselves.
      • Certified 10+ complete scaffolding systems to EN 12810 and EN 12811 as an independent third party at an accredited institute — each a 1.5–2 year project running from the manufacturer's first enquiry to a certificate published on the RISE website — for manufacturers across Europe and Asia, principally Germany, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal and China.
      • Alongside those, a continuous stream of shorter projects: certificate renewals and reviews, connector certification, and recalculation to bring new components into certified systems.
      • Extended the calculation work to tents (EN 13782) and mobile access and working towers (EN 1004).
      • Owned the projects end to end and their economics: budgeting, invoicing, cost follow-up, client dialogue and responsibility for the final result — a yearly portfolio worth around 2 MSEK.

      AbaqusEN 12810EN 12811AFS 2013:4AFS 2023:9Produsentforskriften

   3. Finite element analysis and mechanical testing

      Since Apr 2017

      • Non-linear Abaqus models of scaffolding, grandstands and temporary roofs (contact, geometric imperfections, second-order effects), correlated against full-scale laboratory tests.
      • Preparation and evaluation of mechanical and load-capacity tests to EN 12811-3 with the RISE testing laboratory — 3–5 campaigns a year covering connections, component capacity, durability and full-scale 8 m structures: designing the set-up, acquiring the data in Catman, and validating the numerical models against the measured response.

      AbaqusCatmanEN 12811-3Eurocodes

2. Junior Consultant

   Indra

   Jan 2017 – Mar 2017 · Barcelona, Spain

   • Functional and technical support on the regional tax administration's revenue systems: SQL analysis over Oracle, incident triage in JIRA.

   Oracle BIEEOracle SQLJIRA

3. Project Assistant — DREEAM (EU H2020)

   Chalmers University of Technology

   Jun 2016 – Dec 2016 · Gothenburg, Sweden

   • Research on renewable and energy-efficient construction (façades, PV) for the European DREEAM project; built a UK refurbishment database.

4. Master Thesis Researcher (Internship)

   Thomas Concrete Group

   Jan 2016 – Jun 2016 · Gothenburg, Sweden

   • Modelled early-age thermal cracking in concrete in Diana 10 (shrinkage and creep during hardening). Master thesis.

   Diana 10

5. Research Collaborator

   Rodmon Energy Invest

   Jan 2014 – Jun 2014 · Oviedo, Spain

   • Research on renewable energy, principally wind, and its legislation in northern Spain.

Skills

Structural engineering

Scaffolding & temporary works·Finite Element Method (FEM)·Abaqus·Eurocodes (EN 1990-1999)·Structural analysis·Mechanical testing·Project management: budgeting, invoicing & cost control

Standards & regulations

EN 12810·EN 12811-1/-2·EN 12811-3·EN 74-1/-2/-3·EN 1004·EN 13782·AFS 2023:9·AFS 2013:4·Produsentforskriften

Software

Abaqus·Catman·SAP2000·Diana·Mathcad·AutoCAD·SolidWorks·HEC-RAS·EPANET·Git·VS Code

Programming

Python·MATLAB·Fortran·C (basic)

AI

Automation of calculation and reporting workflows, LLM-assisted (GPT, Claude)

Education

1. MSc in Structural Engineering and Building Technology

   Chalmers University of Technology · Gothenburg, Sweden · Sep 2014 – Jun 2016

   Finite Element Method for structures, structural concrete, structural design, timber engineering, materials performance.

2. Bilateral exchange — Civil Engineering

   Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) · Niterói, Brazil · Sep 2012 – Jul 2013

   Concrete structures, maritime engineering, building renovation.

3. BSc + MSc in Civil Engineering (Ingeniería de Caminos, Canales y Puertos)

   Universidade da Coruña (UDC) · A Coruña, Spain · Sep 2007 – Jul 2013

   Soil mechanics, concrete and steel structures, mathematical modelling, project management.

Professional Project

• Type examination of a modular scaffolding system Jan 2023 – Dec 2024

  Full third-party certification to EN 12810 and EN 12811 for a manufacturer entering the Swedish market, run end to end over two years. Testing first — connections, capacity of platforms, bracing and hop-up brackets, durability and a full-scale 8 m structure — then Abaqus models validated against it, covering transom and ledger capacity and a 24 m scaffold in three configurations as the standard requires. Closed with component conformity, a corrected product manual and a certificate published on the RISE website.

  Certificate issued from a project I ran — RISE C900133

Academic Projects

• Early-Age Thermal Cracking in Concrete Jan 2016 – Jul 2016

  Study and 3D modelling of the mechanisms driving crack formation during the early stages of concrete hardening.

• Cultural building on the outskirts of Stockholm Oct 2014 – Jan 2015

  Structural design of a building comprising a library, an auditorium and a glass façade, sized in SAP2000 to the Eurocodes.

• Precast prestressed girder bridge, Niterói (Brazil) Sep 2013 – Jun 2014

  Sizing of the superstructure of a prestressed beam bridge.

• Building energy efficiency — PROCEL Edifica Sep 2013 – Jun 2014

  Energy-efficiency analysis of buildings against the Brazilian PROCEL Eletrobras labelling requirements.

Languages

Spanish

Native

English

Fluent

Galician

Fluent

Swedish

Professional working proficiency

Italian

Intermediate

Portuguese

Intermediate

French

Basic

AI Certifications

Jul 2026

AI Fluency: Framework & Foundations · Anthropic

Jul 2026

Introduction to Claude Cowork · Anthropic

Jun 2026

Introduction to Agent Skills · Anthropic

Jun 2026

Claude Code 101 · Anthropic

Jun 2026

Claude 101 · Anthropic

Jun 2026

AI Capabilities and Limitations · Anthropic