The technique of brainstorming with pictures and experienced commercial specialists of the company whose opinions and criteria were recorded in a cause and effect diagram is used to identify the problems of the company. The diagram which is shown in Figure 1, was used to categorize the five variables giving rise to delays in orders from customers (investors and construction works) of the company and identify the causes secondary and sometimes tertiary, of each of the categories. Figure 1. Diagram cause and effect the number of occurrences of each main category information was obtained from the performance records of the Affectations to the works (from weekly checkups conducted by the country’s leadership responsible for these activities, which are performed precisely in the halls of company Z, involving all stakeholders in the constructive implementation), records made extraordinary in the arrival of goods to the destinations, the incompatibility of the procedure and purchasing process within the operation of the company in the supplies of the material requirements to works, deviations defined in the course of the year 2003. Within these reports occurrences of secondary causes not recorded so it could not be included in the table 1 that is shown below. Table 1. Delay occurrence on the requirements of supplies to constructive works, by months and variables.
Sources: Close December 2003. Figure 2 shows the proportion of delays due to each one of the four fundamental categories. Can be concluded from Figure 2 that the problems of investors / designers and the instability of the materials supplies were problems that arose during the year 2003, were the causes affecting the works in ten and eleven of the twelve months of the year, i.e. in a 91.66%. The variable that most affected the material supplies after the previous causes was contracting with providers, which ran for nine months, or in a 75% during 2003.