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In Colombia, numerous methods have been implemented to measure the efficacy of secondary education institutions. The purpose of this study is to establish the efficiency of these institutions, using an innovative methodology known as Stochastic Non-Parametric Envelopment Analysis of Data (StoNED) with an output-oriented measurement. A visualization of the relationship between efficiency and the management of the education secretariats by department is proposed. Institutions are taken as decision units, based on the results of students' SABER 11 tests, considering two levels of aggregation, by institution and by department. A slight difference is found in the proportion of institutions that present technical efficiency with respect to those that do not. Moreover, it is identified that most of the institutions that do not present technical efficiency are those of an official nature, and those located in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study determined the environmental actions of a mining company dedicated to exploiting stone aggregates in La Guajira to optimize its production processes. The methodology was initially based on the execution of several visits to the mine facilities, followed by identifying of environmental impacts through the elaboration of the checklist and impact assessment. After this, measures were established to prevent, mitigate, or compensate for the impacts generated by the company, and environmental guidelines were proposed. The results show that the qualification criterion that prevailed more for the identified impacts was the one of --moderate impact--, where it is indicated that the air resource is the most susceptible factor to receive environmental impact due to the processes of extraction, processing, and commercialization inside the company; based on the valuation, the 5 impacts with more importance were chosen for the development of the different environmental programs. Finally, it is concluded that executing environmental actions coherently and sustainably allows to improve the local development of the mining company in its social and environmental aspects. Additionally, with the optimization of the productive processes, the company will be able to redesign its business to reduce costs and promote sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document presents in detail the mathematical formulation of the second renewable energy auction in Colombia, used for the allocation of long-term energy contracts, which was carried out through a double-sided auction, defined in Resolutions 4-0590 and 4-0591 of 2019 from the UPME. The mixed integer linear programming model developed in this paper solves an optimization problem that seeks the combination of offers that maximizes the benefit of the consumer, subject to operational and economic constraints proposed by regulatory mechanisms. The effectiveness of the algorithm developed in Python was tested by validating it with real data, obtaining the same results published by UPME. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of stochastic DEA models using Bayesian Statistics is a technique that has been emerging in recent years, to be used it, simulation of multivariate probability distributions is necessary. A bivariate generator for continuous variable will be presented. Additionally, a discretization has been created on it to achieve simulations of a posteriori distributions with easy way to apply it. Application of the generator to two functions of bivariate probability density will be presented, one of them normal, with their respective tests of goodness of fit. Data from the education sector was used in the database of the DANE (National Administrative Department of Statistics) Colombia to solve the problem of a Bayesian stochastic DEA model. The results show the utility, power and easy implementation of the generator proposed in this type of problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is a kind of high-tech cementitious material with superb mechanical and durability properties compared to other types of concrete. However, due to the high content of cement and silica fume used, the cost and environmental impact of UHPC is considerably higher than conventional concrete. For this reason, several efforts around the world have been made to develop UHPC with greener and less expensive local pozzolans. This study aimed to design and produce UHPC using local fly ash available in Colombia. A numerical optimization, based on Design of Experiments (DoE) and multi-objective criteria, was performed to obtain a mixture with the proper flow and highest compressive strength, while simultaneously having the minimum content of cement. The results showed that, despite the low quality of local fly ashes in Colombia, compressive strength values of 150 MPa without any heat treatment can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The footwear industry is made up of various types of products and is an important economy line in Colombia. Footwear products aimed at improving occupational safety and health must meet high quality standards and are expensive to produce. The thermoplastic soles production for footwear is complex and it is necessary to evaluate different phases of the process that can be improved and subsequently apply policies that contribute to the improvement of these critical points. For this research, the main variables associated with the elaboration of thermoplastic soles were analyzed, where the bottlenecks were located and a set of solution scenarios are proposed, which allow a reduction in production cost and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Investigación Administrativa is the property of ESCA Santo Tomas - IPN and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Estudios Gerenciales is the property of Universidad ICESI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this investigation was to design an optimal production scheduling for a small shoe business located in San Jose de Cucuta (Colombia). The constraints of its productive system were identified in order to develop a mathematical model following the theory of constraints together with the operations research, specifically the linear programming technique. As a result, the optimal quantities of manufacturing were obtained to maximize the throughput (selling price minus cost of materials) for the collection of the second semester of 2011. The study also allowed the identification of the critical operation of the productive system, from which scenarios and opportunities were identified in order to use its resources. The mathematical model and the scheduling process from the theory of constraints that represents the optimal scheduling could be implemented in small shoe businesses with the same characteristics of the study case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this proposal is to implement a school day agenda focused on the learning rhythms of students of elementary and secondary schools using a genetic algorithm. The methodology of this proposal takes into account legal requirements and constraints on the assignment of teachers and classrooms in public educational institutions in Colombia. In addition, this proposal provides a set of constraints focused on cognitive rhythms and subjects are scheduled at the most convenient times according to the area of knowledge. The genetic algorithm evolves through a process of mutation and selection and builds a total solution based on the best solutions for each group. Sixteen groups in a school are tested and the results of class schedule assignments are presented. The quality of the solution obtained through the established approach is validated by comparing the results to the solutions obtained using another algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimization of the expansion planning of the real distribution system in the city of Medellin in Colombia, is analyzed in this work. The distribution system has 155 nodes and 154 branches at a voltage level of 13200 volts. Efficient evolutionary algorithms are applied, with the purpose of observing their improvements and performance when compared with conventional evolutionary algorithms. Besides, a mono-stage and mono-objective distribution planning model, which objective function is the optimization of construction costs and technical losses of the system is also studied. Finally, the impact of specially designed efficient operators for optimization is discussed and the estimated costs are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this investigation was to design an optimal production plan for a soft drink bottling plant located in San Jose de Cucuta (Colombia), where the productive system's constraints were identified to develop a mathematical model following the operations research methodology, specifically the linear programming technique, together with the theory of constraints. As a result, the optimal quantities of manufacturing were obtained at the lowest cost for the selected period (June, 2011). Besides, the study also allowed us to identify an unused productive capacity, from which scenarios and opportunities were identified to use their resources. The mathematical model that represents the optimal production plan could be implemented in soft drink bottling plants that have the same characteristics of the case study considered in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minimizing the cost of electricity in commercial areas of Colombia is one of the biggest needs of this economic sector covering the competitiveness of industrial parks that stimulates investment in this country. In this article, an optimization tool is described on the exploitation of a self- generation plant that together with the conventional connection to electrical networks is used as a source of energy to supply it to commercial areas. Under these general conditions, the advantage of operational hypothetic conditions has been evaluated. As a computational tool to determine this model, we apply the so- called General System of Algebra Model- GAMS- with the support of MATLAB to facilitate incomes and data processing [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a methodology for decision-making based on deterministic and stochastic optimization models to design the network for the supply of palm oil and biodiesel in Colombia. It takes account of the projections of technology available to the transportation sector in scenarios of probabilities associated with the demand for biodiesel in each period of the planning horizon. A base scenario is used to determine the opening of bio-refineries, production plans, optimum flows of raw material and finished products through the network, and the percentage of demand met. This methodology is a flexible took that allows lines of action to be defined depending on the conditions of the supply network, supporting strategic and tactical decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the long term planning analysis of a power transmission system as a nonlinear integer mixed optimization problem that includes in the objective function the expected power not served as index that explicitly measures the reliability. This problem is solved combining the techniques of genetic algorithms for the optimization part and the state space enumeration for the reliability. As a real example, an expansion study of the power transmission system that serves the city of Pereira in Colombia is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a consulting project in which a linear programming model was developed for establishing optimal packaging and delivery policies in a Colombian food company. The problem consists in minimizing transportation costs subject to capacity and packaging constraints and demand satisfaction. A sensitivity analysis showing possible future scenarios is also presented. Currently the company uses the model for optimizing its logistics operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a methodology based on a minimum cost multi-period optimization model and a previous model for mobility demand estimation, there are assessed different mobility demand scenarios next to energy and environmental regulatory policies for the urban transportation of the Aburrá Valley. It is expected the developed methodology and tools to support and guide decision processes over urban transportation sector at a local scale pointing to diminish pollutant emissions to atmosphere. This methodology considers high geographic dissagregation level of the information to support territorial urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]