The rural Andean community of Yacubiana, Ecuador, currently lacks an adequate sanitation infrastructure, with domestic wastewater managed through individual septic tanks. These decentralized systems have exhibited significant infiltration issues, resulting in groundwater contamination, degradation of sensitive páramo ecosystems, and adverse public health outcomes. Furthermore, this environmental degradation has impeded the community’s potential for ecotourism-based development. To address these challenges, an integrated wastewater management strategy was developed, grounded in sanitary engineering principles and aligned with conservation priorities. The proposed framework encompassed four sequential phases: (i) a comprehensive analysis of existing data on water and wastewater practices within the community; (ii) a systematic evaluation of sanitation alternatives tailored to the community’s socio-environmental context and the ecological fragility of Andean paramos; (iii) the design of a selected sanitation solution in accordance with national and international technical standards; and (iv) a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis conducted with both technical experts in water resource management and local community representatives. This participatory evaluation aimed to identify strategic pathways for enhancing environmental stewardship, promoting circular water economies, and enabling sustainable tourism. The recommended intervention consists of a simplified, decentralized sewage collection system linked to a trickling filter-based treatment plant, designed for a hydraulic load of 2.79 L/s. The SWOT analysis revealed substantial institutional and infrastructural constraints, primarily due to limited governmental support; however, it also identified considerable ecotourism potential grounded in the area’s geological, ecological, and cultural assets. When implemented within a conservation-based framework, the proposed system is expected to support compliance with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 (Good Health and Well-being), 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), and 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). The methodological approach developed herein offers a replicable model for integrated wastewater management in rural, environmentally sensitive regions, providing a viable foundation for community-led, sustainable socio-economic development.
To facilitate a rigorous evaluation of damage progression in in-service steel frame structures subjected to seismic loading, a seismic damage model that integrates the effects of atmospheric corrosion has been developed. Corrosion-induced deterioration significantly influences the structural integrity of bolted steel frames, yet its impact on seismic performance remains inadequately quantified. In this study, a performance-based seismic damage assessment framework has been established, wherein corrosion-related degradation is incorporated into the structural damage evolution process. Drawing on an extensive review of domestic and international research, a refined damage index classification system has been formulated to characterize varying levels of structural impairment. To validate the proposed model, a seismic collapse simulation was conducted on a 1:4 scaled-down steel frame specimen, enabling a comprehensive analysis of damage accumulation over different service durations. The results confirm that the developed model accurately captures the progressive deterioration and collapse behavior of corroded steel frames under seismic excitation. This study provides a quantitative basis for assessing the post-earthquake residual load-bearing capacity of in-service bolted steel frame structures, offering critical insights for structural resilience evaluation and maintenance planning.
A comprehensive statistical analysis was conducted to investigate the causes and prioritization of failure modes within a production line manufacturing leather covers for automotive interiors. The study was grounded in a Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (PFMEA), with a dual emphasis on evaluating the traditional Risk Priority Number (RPN) approach and the more contemporary Action Priority (AP) methodology, which has been increasingly adopted to enhance risk assessment sensitivity. Failure modes were classified and prioritized using both approaches, revealing notable differences in the ranking outcomes. To further elucidate the underlying contributors to these failure modes, causal factors were systematically categorized in accordance with the 5M+1E framework—Man, Machine, Method, Material, Measurement, and Environment—commonly employed in quality and reliability engineering. A cause-and-effect diagram was constructed to visualize the distribution of root causes across these categories. Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses were employed to quantify the relationship between each category and the prioritized failure modes. Particular attention was paid to examining the interdependencies among the core PFMEA parameters—Severity, Occurrence, and Detection—in order to determine their respective contributions to the variability in failure mode rankings. It was found that Severity exerted the most substantial influence on the prioritization outcomes under the AP model, while Occurrence was more dominant when the RPN method was applied. These findings suggest that the choice of prioritization method significantly alters the interpretation of risk and resource allocation for corrective actions. The integration of 5M+1E categorization with PFMEA metrics offers a structured pathway to enhance the diagnostic capability of reliability assessments and improve decision-making in failure prevention strategies. This approach is proposed as a more robust alternative to traditional analysis, enabling more precise targeting of corrective and preventive measures in high-precision manufacturing environments.
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