This paper proposes a heuristic procedure created to improve the collection routes obtained with the support of the ArcGIS software and its complement, Network Analyst. After a series of experiments, it was found that the software presents several inconsistencies with logistical and operational management concepts, such as the unnecessary realization of U-turns in a dead end and unnecessary access to areas with difficult access to a single customer. These are issues that a collection route planner must consider to make a good decision that considers the cost of visiting areas with difficult access and the benefits of reaching that area. In this sense, our heuristic procedure considers a set of best practices in operational and logistical strategies that could be programmed within the Network Analyst. As it is well known in the science of vehicle routing, U-turns and sub-tours in the routes travelled by vehicles increase distances and operating costs, so in our work, we propose a systematic heuristic procedure to reduce the number of U-turns performed by a municipal waste collection truck, while using the ArcGIS-Network Analyst add-on to reduce the number of sub-tours in the route under the Directed-Capacitated Arc Routing Problem approach. It is then shown how the routes improved using our conceptual heuristic procedure, which provides better quality than the original routes obtained with ArcGIS and Network Analyst. Specifically, reducing the total distances travelled by the vehicle fleet, increasing the coverage of sidewalks visited by the truck in the urban perimeter of a city, and minimizing the time used in municipal solid waste collection operations. The importance of our work lies in the fact that effective MSW management is an essential municipal service whose regulation can drive innovation, sustainability, and efficiency in the MSW sector.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate how the disruptive change from a face-to-face to an online teaching/learning modality due to COVID-19 has been perceived by students and lecturers of entrepreneurship courses in universities in six Latin American countries by evaluating the conditions that affect their satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach: Two online surveys were distributed to lecturers and students of entrepreneurship courses. A total of 559 responses were received from students and 270 lecturers from six Latin American countries. The information was analysed through principal component analysis (PCA), correlations and the Mann–Whitney–Wilcoxon test.Findings: This research provides new information about the factors that are relevant to student and lecturer satisfaction when moving from mandatory face-to-face to online classes. The results show that overall satisfaction is lower among students than among teachers. Besides, that student communication with the lecturer and technology-supported access to lectures are two important aspects that affect student satisfaction. Regarding lecturers' satisfaction, the participation and attitude of their students in online classes are important conditions that affect their intention to teach online courses in the future.Practical implications: This study has allowed us to reflect on online education and teaching methodologies in Latin-American universities after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to recognise opportunities for improvement to increase student and lecturer satisfaction in this new reality.Originality/value: This study provides new evidence by comparing the satisfaction between lecturers and students in entrepreneurship courses and factors that affect their satisfaction in several Latin American countries, after change to an online modality due to COVID-19.

The present investigation analyzes, knows and compares the level of competitiveness in the Small and Medium Enterprises of the prioritized sectors in the change of the productive matrix: Tourism, Food, Textile, Pharmaceutical, Metalworking, Clothing and Footwear in the Metropolitan District of Quito. This study is based on the competitiveness model proposed by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The study is non-experimental descriptive. The methods to obtain the data were the documentary analysis and surveys to obtain the soft data required by the WEF method. To determine the level of competitiveness and know the reality of SMEs, the characterization of the sectors was carried out, determining the importance of these for the transformation of the productive matrix, the competitiveness index according to the methodology is obtained with the calculation of 3 sub-indices, which are formed by 12 pillars and each pillar composed of variables established according to the sector analyzed. From the research of the current situation of SMEs and the determination of the level of sectoral competitiveness strategies for the national industry, with the vision of achieving better levels of competitiveness, these strategies are alienated to the change of the productive matrix, to search so that Ecuador stops being a producer of only raw material and becomes an exporter of final products with added value, benefiting both the business sector and Ecuador. The research could be extended by including the remaining sectors and the left provinces from Ecuador.

La adopción de las tecnologías de la industria 4.0 promete ser una herramienta muy útil para optimizar procesos, está conformada por 9 tecnologías; por otro lado existe otra herramienta denominada Lean Manufacturing (LM), conformada por diversas técnicas que de igual forma se emplea para mejorar la productividad de procesos. Esta investigación tiene como objeto determinar la correlación e influencia de la implementación de las técnicas LM en la adopción de las tecnologías 4.0 en un estudio de caso múltiple a 8 organizaciones de manufactura ubicadas en la provincia de Pichincha. Para ello se empleó un diseño no experimental transeccional exploratorio con enfoque mixto. La herramienta de investigación fue una encuesta cerrada conformada por 3 secciones, el análisis de datos se realizó en el software SPSS donde se analizó la correlación con el coeficiente de PEARSON y ANOVA. Se encontró que de las 8 empresas encuestadas únicamente el 25% de estas cuentan con un nivel de implementación de Lean Manufacturing medio alto; así mismo el 100% de estas presentan un nivel bajo de implementación de las tecnologías de la industria 4.0, el análisis ANOVA 0,01 < 0,05 con un 95% de confianza demuestra que si existe influencia del nivel de implementación de Lean Manufacturing en la adopción de las tecnologías de la industria 4.0 y el coeficiente de PEARSON indica si hay correlación significativa entre variables