What CIM is and how it works

It is an organization that, since 2026, brings together specialized engineering and architecture firms, engineers and specialists under shared technical judgment. It is new as an organization, not in experience: its member firms add up to more than 150 years of practice.

Mexico’s historic challenge has not been a lack of technical capability, but the difficulty of integrating the knowledge of the different disciplines from the origin of a project. In usual practice each discipline optimizes its own scope, integration happens at later stages, adjustments are pushed to the site and the real cost appears late.

CIM exists to bring that integration to the start of the project, when comparing alternatives and finding the best solution is a natural process. A system, not a sum of parts. More in Company.

For public or private clients and for projects of different scales and types: housing, buildings, infrastructure, airports, highways or rail projects. For each project, the team its scope requires is brought together.

It is advisable from the start. The engineering decisions made at the origin of a project weigh the most on its cost and are the easiest to correct; resolving them at that stage avoids passing problems on to construction. This holds for a client with its own technical team and for one without it.

Yes. For the public sector CIM works in the same role: technical advice and coordination. Each public entity has its own contracting rules, so the particulars are reviewed with it for each specific project.

For projects outside Mexico the model applies in the same way: CIM operates from Mexico City and makes the visits the project requires. The conditions of each case are defined in the proposal.

In planning and preconstruction, before tendering or contracting execution, to resolve scope, interfaces (the points where disciplines meet), risks, constructability and strategy while alternatives can still be compared.

It can also join projects already under way, starting from an assessment of their status and pending decisions, and evaluate existing assets, public or private, to guide their conservation.

Contractor

Builds the works. CIM does not build and does not compete for execution.

Design firm

Develops the design of its discipline and is responsible for it. CIM does not design directly: it integrates the designs of the responsible firms and specialists.

Project management

Leads execution and administers contracts, schedule, budget, procurement and on-site coordination. Contracted directly by the client.

Site supervision

Verifies and controls the works on site within its scope. Contracted directly by the client.

CIM

Works earlier, on technical definition and integration, and delivers the integrated basis on which the works are contracted and built. During construction it only provides support when the client requires it, as technical backing for project management and site supervision, without leading execution.

CIM does not duplicate roles; it fills the gap between them. Nor does it replace the client, the designers or the specialists, and it does not operate assets or carry out maintenance.

It is not the opinion of a single practice: the highest-impact definitions are tested and validated by a collegiate body, the Technical Board.

Usually the client contracts each specialist separately and a coordinator from its own team brings the designs together. With CIM, the decisions that affect several disciplines are resolved among the specialists themselves, from the start and under a single judgment. The client and its coordinator receive a project that is already integrated, reviewed by the Technical Board, with the alternatives and the implications of each one in view.

There are companies that coordinate, design or provide preconstruction services, and firms with internal review groups. None brings together what CIM does: independent, recognized firms working as a single system, a Technical Board made up of their principals, and no interest in construction.

CIM has no equivalent in Mexico, and in the review it carried out in November 2026 it did not identify one in other countries. CIM, Consorcio de la Ingeniería Mexicana, has no relationship with other organizations of similar name.

It rests on three principles:

Integrated experience

The experience of firms and specialists is integrated under shared technical judgment, with BIM coordination and without diluting the responsibility of each discipline.

Early technical analysis

Alternatives are compared, construction conditions are considered and risks are identified while they can still be managed.

Well-founded decisions

The highest-impact definitions are tested, documented and validated with the backing of the Technical Board.

The work is organized in modules, each with a defined objective and deliverables:

M0 Assessment

Reviews the starting conditions, the available information and the risks of a new or ongoing project to define its technical route.

M1 Definition

Defines the technical basis and the highest-impact decisions on scope, cost and feasibility before the design is developed.

M2 Integration

Integrates and coordinates the designs of the disciplines with BIM methodology, in line with what was defined in M1.

M3 Constructability

Tests the whole against real construction conditions, and consolidates and delivers coordinated models and construction drawings.

Transfer

Marks the step from technical definition to execution. CIM transfers the integrated basis to the project management and site supervision contracted by the client.

M4 Support

When the client requires it, CIM supports project management and site supervision as strategic technical backing during construction.

M5 Integrity

For existing assets: assesses the condition of infrastructure and buildings to anticipate deterioration and guide their conservation.

The scope of each engagement is defined according to the needs and complexity of the project. Details in Model.

At the end of each module, CIM delivers its results and the client decides whether to continue or stop (Go / No-Go decision). Work does not move on to the next module automatically: the client’s authorization is required.

The work of the completed module is paid as agreed, even if the decision is not to continue. If the scope of the project changes at that decision, the fees for the following modules are reviewed at that point.

There are no fixed durations. The time each module takes depends on the size and complexity of the project and is assessed case by case. The term of each module is set out in the proposal.

The usual starting point is M0 Assessment: the starting conditions, the available information and the risks are reviewed, and from them the technical route and the scope of the following modules are defined. The scope is set out in writing in the proposal for each project.

Before contracting, it is advisable to review in the proposal:

• The scope and deliverables of each module.
• The disciplines involved and the firm or specialist responsible for each one.
• Which specialist services are contracted through CIM and which the client contracts directly.
• The integration fees and, separately, the specialist services.
• The payment terms and what is decided at the close of each module.
• Who represents the client at the working table.

With CIM, which is a single point of contact for the integration of the engineering. The client’s representative —its coordinator or project manager— takes part in the working table with CIM.

The client decides. CIM is the technical reference at the design stage: it presents the alternatives with the implications of each one and issues its recommendation.

Designs and studies are developed by the firms and specialists responsible for each discipline. CIM does not design directly and has no in-house staff of designers.

When “in-house” capability is mentioned, it means that the Consortium has member firms, each with its own track record and technical capability; not that CIM is the author of their designs.

CIM integrates, coordinates and technically leads the whole during the definition of the project: it conducts the integration table and maintains shared judgment across the disciplines. It does not direct the works.

Designers and specialists

Authorship and technical responsibility for their discipline: calculations, drawings, specifications, studies and opinions.

CIM

The coordination, review and technical integration contracted. When designs are contracted through CIM, also the administration of those contracts; technical responsibility remains with each firm.

Project management

Administers contracts, schedule and budget during execution.

Site supervision

Verifies and controls the works on site within its scope.

Contractor

Builds the works and is responsible for their execution.

Owner

Approves the interventions and the resources.

The scope and responsibilities of each party are set out in writing in each case.

The Technical Board, together with the Executive Chairman and the operations team, takes part in selecting the right firms and specialists for each project and in the technical decisions. Decisions are built jointly, with professional judgment and ethics, considering what is best for the project; they are not the decision of a single person.

The highest-impact definitions are tested, documented and validated with the backing of the Technical Board. CIM presents the alternatives and its recommendation to the client; decisions about the project rest with the client. The members of the Board are listed in Governance.

Yes. CIM can contract that professional at the price quoted to the client, with no margin added, and integrate them into the project team. Specialists from outside the Consortium can also be brought in when the project requires it.

If the client’s needs require it, CIM can coordinate work that the client has contracted directly. This is a flexible alternative, not the preferred form of the model. In every case, scope and responsibilities are defined in writing.

The preferred model is for CIM to contract and integrate the firms and specialists the project requires, preferably from among the members of the Consortium. This keeps technical and administrative coordination in a single body and lets CIM retain the authority needed to integrate the project.

CIM’s fees are fixed per module. They are determined by the scope, the amount of work, the size and the complexity of the project. They do not depend on the construction budget, are not calculated as a percentage of the cost of the works, and include no commissions or share in savings.

The proposal and the contract for each project set out the scope, the deliverables and the payment terms. Payment is made module by module, and the next module starts only with the client’s authorization (Go / No-Go). M4 Support and M5 Integrity are quoted separately, case by case.

No. CIM’s integration fees cover the coordination, review and technical integration of the whole. The designs and studies of each discipline —architecture, structure, building services or soil mechanics, for example— are services of the firms and specialists that develop them, and are identified separately in the proposal.

It means that CIM adds no markup to the fees of designers, advisers or studies. When those services are contracted through CIM, the client sees in the proposal what corresponds to each discipline, separate from the integration fees.

CIM administers those contracts; technical responsibility for each discipline remains with the firm or specialist that develops it.

When CIM coordinates the specialists, their work tends to be more efficient: they receive clear definitions, coordinated information and a single judgment, and rework is reduced. That efficiency may be reflected in the fees each firm quotes. It is not a guaranteed or automatic result: it depends on each project and each discipline.

The decisions that define a project should be assessed independently of the interests tied to its construction, supply or sale of works. CIM does not compete for execution or link its fees to construction cost; nor does it add margins to the fees of designers, advisers or studies.

CIM takes cost, logistics, risks and constructability into account, but prevents a commercial incentive from determining the technical solution.

CIM does not eliminate the uncertainty inherent in a project. It makes it visible earlier, while it can still be managed and resolved with technical judgment.

Specialized firms that retain their technical responsibility and work under shared technical judgment:

Structural Design

Colinas de Buen, García Jarque Ingenieros and CE Ingeniería Civil Aplicada.

MEP & Specialty Engineering

Gralte.

Geotechnics & Quality Control

Ingeniería Experimental.

Soil Mechanics

MKE Ingeniería de Suelos.

Infrastructure & Urban Development

SUNOLTE.

Construction Management & Supervision

Temocsa.

Architecture

Felipe Leal Arquitecto.

The firms are independent, but within the CIM model they work as a single team. They do not compete with one another within the Consortium: they complement and back each other, and share the workload according to the needs of each project.

The current list is in Member Firms.

A firm or a specialist joins by invitation of the Consortium or by application. The application is submitted online, from Member Firms in the case of a firm or from Members in the case of a professional, with the information and documents indicated there.

In both cases, Management verifies that all the requirements are met and the admission is put to a vote of the Technical Board; if the Board approves it, the firm or the specialist joins the Consortium.

The track record belongs to the firms and professionals who built it. Together they add up to more than 150 years of experience, more than 14,500 projects developed by the firms and more than 200 specialist engineers.

The Projects page presents a selection of works in which the firms and specialists that now make up CIM have taken part, among them Estadio Azteca, Terminal 2 of Mexico City International Airport, Metro Line A, the National Museum of Anthropology, the Las Varas–Puerto Vallarta highway and the San Lázaro Legislative Palace. Each work corresponds to the firm or professional indicated there, in the role indicated there; they are not works contracted or built by CIM as a consortium.

CIM, as an organization, has existed since 2026 and contributes the model: the integration of those capabilities under shared technical judgment.

Yes. Several of them took part in the same project before CIM existed. One precedent is Plaza Carso, in Mexico City, with Museo Soumaya and Acuario Inbursa: CIM records in those works the participation of Colinas de Buen in structural design and of Ingeniería Experimental in soil mechanics.

They were not CIM projects. They are precedents of the joint work of its firms.

Technical matters are led by the Technical Board as a whole, headed by its Chair, Francisco García Álvarez, M.Sc. Operations are led by Diego Olvera Ruiz, Executive Chairman.

The Technical Board is CIM’s collegiate body of technical governance. It brings together and tests the experience of the firms, engineers and specialists; it reviews alternatives, resolves differences between disciplines and validates the highest-impact definitions.

The Honorary Board is an advisory body: it contributes advice, ideas and experience. Its members are José María Riobóo Martín, Francisco Eloy García Jarque and Javier Jiménez Espriú. The full list is in Governance.

CIM has its origin in the career and professional school of Daniel Ruiz Fernández (1927–2020), National Civil Engineering Award 2003. Diego Olvera Ruiz, founding member of CIM, worked with him for fifteen years. The story is in Origins.

CIM Certified is the Technical Board’s endorsement. It assesses suppliers, contractors and construction professionals that offer works, products or services. Those who meet the admission criteria join the registry that CIM makes available to its clients, from which it recommends profiles according to the needs of each project.

Contractors, suppliers, construction professionals, technical specialists (laboratories, expert witnesses and consultants), and responsible site directors (DRO) and permit managers can be certified. Tax and social-security compliance, track record, financial stability and reputation are reviewed one by one; reputation is assessed by the Technical Board. If a required criterion is not met, the application is not accepted; the fee does not replace approval.

Each certification has a certificate number. Anyone can check in CIM Certified who it belongs to and whether it is in force. The client decides and contracts directly; CIM charges no commissions or percentages.

With a first conversation with CIM’s office, through the channels on the Contact page. From there the project is reviewed and the start is defined with M0 Assessment.

The members of the governing bodies are listed in Governance, and the firms, with their specialty, in Member Firms.