ABSTRACT
This paper examines the concept of total cost in buildings and investigates the feasibility of producing a Total Cost Performance Index. To do so it:
Identifies the components of total cost and examines their units of measurement to ascertain compatibility
Investigates existing sources of information for each component
Investigates the relative importance of the components one to another
The paper closes with an examination of outside factors impinging on total cost for which allowance should be made in any model.
