Background: This study presents a comprehensive methodology for enhancing humanitarian logistics planning and management in natural disasters, focusing on earthquakes. Methods: The innovative approach combines a deterministic mathematical model with a simulation model to address the problem from multiple perspectives, aiming to improve efficiency and equity in post-disaster supply distribution. In the deterministic modeling phase, optimal locations for humanitarian distribution centers and points in Popayan, Colombia, were identified, enabling efficient resource allocation for affected families. Subsequently, the simulation model evaluated scenarios based on real earthquakes in Colombia and Latin America, providing a comprehensive view of the logistics system’s response capacity to different disaster conditions and magnitudes. Results: The results demonstrated that the proposed methodology significantly reduced supply delivery time, achieving a 30% improvement compared to traditional humanitarian logistics approaches. Moreover, it led to a more equitable coverage of affected communities, with a 25% increase in families served in previously underserved areas. Expert validation from the Disaster Risk Management Committee of the study area confirmed the methodology’s usefulness for informed and effective decision-making in real situations. Conclusions: This integrated approach of mathematical modeling and discrete event simulation offers valuable insights to address disaster management and support decision-making in humanitarian crises.

In recent years, agriculture has become an essential activity in Colombia, despite the challenges faced by farmers due to low yields and insufficient resources to improve their main activities, such as irrigation systems, agricultural practices, and industrial machinery. This Hass avocado approach has been addressed in previous research considering system dynamics simulation to evaluate farmers’ behavior strategies and improve their competitiveness. However, these studies typically examine a single strategy effect and avoid multiple integrated strategies. Other studies focused on the complex interactions between different factors in the production chain and their feedback effects on farmers’ productivity and cash flow. For these reasons, this research provides a comprehensively dynamic model and evaluates long-term strategies and their effects on supporting and improving small farmers’ productivity and profitability. A system dynamics methodology was used to model complex systems processing Hass avocado farmer association data and explore their effects on competitiveness for long-term sustainable and profitable agriculture. This research proposes optimal scenarios for small farmers, including strategies such as low-interest credit access, logistics practices, and government technical support. The scenarios provide a proactive tool for decision makers and promote rural farmers’ development, aligning high-quality fresh product supply and demand.

Avocado is an important export and consumption product in Colombia, and its economic importance is expected to increase in the coming years. With its vast potential territory for avocado cultivation, the department of Cauca is a crucial area for producing this variety. However, small producers in the region often need more knowledge of the most suitable locations for planting. This study seeks to determine the ideal areas for Hass avocado cultivation in Cauca using geographic information tools and multi-criteria decision analysis, using a set of official data from different governmental entities and the hierarchical analytical process that allows determining the intensity of the interrelation of factors in the cultivation of Hass avocado. The results indicate that the municipalities near the Popayán plateau have the most significant potential for Hass avocado production, using the analytical hierarchy process. Approximately 9.2% of the administrative territory of the region is classified as highly suitable for Hass avocado cultivation, and an additional 14.2% is considered moderately suitable, constituting about 700,000 hectares of arable land. This research provides decision-makers and producers with valuable knowledge to support and improve Hass avocado agriculture in the region by implementing agricultural engineering practices.

Un diseño apropiado de las instalaciones de fabricación puede aumentar la eficiencia de las operaciones internas de una empresa, mediante la optimización de los costes de manipulación y flujo de materiales. En este trabajo se abordó la planificación de la distribución de las instalaciones (FLP, por sus siglas en inglés), modelada como un problema de asignación cuadrática (QAP, por sus siglas en inglés), aplicado a una empresa dedicada a la producción de licores. El problema se resolvió utilizando la Técnica de Asignación Relativa Computarizada de Instalaciones, que pertenece a los algoritmos heurísticos, con la cual se logró determinar la mejor asignación de las áreas para la planta, teniendo en cuenta las distancias recorridas y los costos de flujo de materiales. Posteriormente, se realizó una simulación para evaluar la nueva distribución ante las actividades diarias de la empresa, teniendo en cuenta la variabilidad de los tiempos de carga y descarga. Los resultados de la simulación sugieren que, si se aplica la nueva distribución, los costes y los tiempos del flujo de materiales se reducirían en un 13,22 % y un 4,28 %, respectivamente.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a catastrophic event that marked the history of humanity. The virus’s transmissibility has primarily prevented the control of the pandemic, so it has become vital to determine and control the dynamics of the population mobility to reduce the epidemiological impact. Considering the above, this paper uses an exposure indicator based on the movement ranges provided by Facebook to determine the dynamics of population mobility in Popayán city for the period after the appearance of COVID-19. Using statistical analysis techniques, it then contrasts the data obtained with the public circulation reports provided by Google and Apple. The results suggest that the exposure indicator is reliable and presents moderate to strong linear relationships for the public data, which implies that it can be an additional resource for decision-making to curb the spread of the virus.

The factors causing delays in construction projects continue to be studied, yet Colombia's construction sector remains plagued by excessive deadlines, cost overruns, and disputes among the parties involved. This study aims to analyze and prioritize the critical factors that cause delays in construction projects. The proposed methodological framework begins with identifying delay factors from the literature review. Essential factors are determined using the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) technique, considering expert opinions. Then, a structural analysis of these factors is performed using the Matrix of Cross-Impact Multiplications Applied to Classification (MICMAC) technique to determine the key factors and their driver-dependent correlations. Finally, a multi-criteria analysis is conducted using the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) technique to establish the hierarchy of critical factors. The study found that the two most critical factors causing delays in construction projects are schedule adherence and the variation of execution times versus planned times. Additionally, the sequential integration of the three techniques allowed for effectively identifying and prioritizing critical factors, making the proposed methodological framework suitable for application in similar contexts. The results can help project managers focus on these factors, develop realistic plans, and strengthen project stakeholder management to mitigate the effects of delays in future projects.