Inca: A retrospective performance tool for project management

During an investigation of catastrophic paint failures on a major international building a method of determining the cross links between trade activities during the building process was developed as a post-construction analytical technique. The specially written software was recognised immediately as a possible generic performance tool, and of considerable use to facilities managers where major maintenance and construction problems were evident in buildings under their care. INCA, the name of the software, aptly refers to 'Incompatible Construction Activities' during construction. The first case study that gave rise to this method is described. Data from the project documentation was processed together with the results of other on-site investigations, and confirmed a significant number of unfavourable conjunctions of trades. These effects were found to be associated with the evidence of paint failures found both on site and determined in the laboratory. A multi-million pound litigation case was involved. This paper discusses the application of INCA, which was written by the author, and shows how, combined with traditional investigations, it assisted in a speedy final settlement. The software is equally applicable to similar construction management problems.