Civil engineer · Infrastructure project consultant

I help contractors bid, execute and close out their projects at a profit.

For more than 45 years I have directed hydroelectric plants, dams, tunnels and highways in seven countries. Today I advise companies on a single phase or across the whole project cycle, from tender to final settlement.

Book a 30-minute call See how I work

Sergio Mancinas ZaldívarCivil engineer and MBA

Track record

directing infrastructure projects: 45+ years
Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Panama, Nicaragua, Malaysia and Spain: 7 countries
recovered in claims for unrecognized costs and changed conditions: 70 M USD

across five hydroelectric projects: 3,000 MW
in a combined-cycle power plant, with partial involvement: 1,056 MW
of tunnels: 67 bored by TBM and 30 by conventional excavation: 97 km
of highways, with their structures and ancillary works: 86 km
three in RCC (800,000 m³) and one in conventional concrete (2,500,000 m³): 4 dams
of urban works and buildings: 30,000 m²

How I work

I can join your project at the phase it is in, or support it from start to finish.

Tender

Review of the technical, legal and risk documents. Site visit, planning and estimate: direct cost, indirect cost, risk analysis and sale price.

Start-up

Pre-construction activities, permits and mobilization. Integrated planning and a detailed construction schedule.

Execution

Value engineering from a constructability standpoint. Review of the master plan and of the construction methods.

Control

Review of the schedule, its trends and the project's financial results, to correct cost and time overruns early.

Claims and contract changes

Identifying changed conditions, framing and valuing claims, proper use of the site logbook, and extra unit prices.

Contract close-out

Final settlements, handover, release of bonds and recovery of retentions.

Higher margins. Lower contractual risk.

I also coach site managers in leadership and give technical support to law firms in construction disputes.

Technology support

If your project needs to bring order to its information flows, I also have technology support.

I work with a team of collaborators in software engineering and cybersecurity, with experience in Europe at fintech and software-as-a-service companies. Together we help project information reach decision-makers on time.

Ask about technology support

Cost and schedule dashboards
Up-to-date information to decide without waiting for month-end.
Reports and approvals
Automated reports and authorization workflows.
Document control
Contracts, drawings and correspondence, organized and easy to find.
Information security
Protection of project data and role-based access.

About me

I have spent my career on site.

I am a civil engineer with an MBA. I have directed the construction of hydroelectric plants, dams, tunnels, highways, aqueducts and urban works in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Panama, Nicaragua, Malaysia and Spain, and I have handled the contract administration of those projects, from tender to close-out.

I work with unit-price, mixed, lump-sum and EPC contracts, under Mexico's public works law (LOPSRM) and under FIDIC.

Today I work as an independent consultant. MICSA is the firm through which I provide my services.

Career and education →