## 4 Data Analysis
### Operational Cost  
For operational expenses, the installation of one square meter of adobe will initially be considered, and thereafter, the cost of a 10 \(\times\) 20 \(\times\) 40 cm adobe block will be determined.  
To conduct this analysis, a customary procedure for constructing masonry walls in the area was considered. Furthermore, it has been assumed that the preceding tasks, such as foundation laying, establishment of columns and beams supporting masonry, and other preparatory work, have already been completed.  
The construction process that will be considered is outlined in the construction norms Norma E.08 Design and Construction with Reinforced Earth [27], NORMA CHILENA NCh3332 Structural design--Retrofitting of historic earth buildings--Requirements for structural design planning [43], and Ecuadorian Construction Standard--Two-story residential buildings and 5-m-high stories [35]. The process specifies the appropriate stacking of adobe bricks and mortar filling of blocks with a thickness of e = 2.00 cm with a cement-sand ratio of 1:6, which will be considered for cost analysis.  
In the cost analysis, expenditures were categorized into three distinct categories: materials to install (detailed in Table 6), labor, and equipment. This classification has been affected by productivity rates derived from the local construction experience and methodology employed in Ecuador. The mortar used in the analysis was the dosage recommended by Norma E.08 Design and Construction with Reinforced Earth [27] with a straw-soil ratio of 1:2.  
The values presented in the following table are those calculated for the preparation of mortar, whereas the cost of adobe brick corresponds to those obtained in the manufacturing cost section, and the total cost corresponds to the product of the quantity and unit cost.  
The dynamic in Table 7 corresponds to the one presented in Table 4, but it involves another group of workers and performances that correspond to the installation.  
With respect to the expense associated with the installation tools, it is hereby acknowledged that a cost equivalent to 5% of the labor expenses will be considered, as these tools primarily require basic carpentry equipment and therefore do not represent a significant financial burden. This value is equal to 0.3528 USD (C). For administrative expenses, the same allocation method used in the preceding section will be employed, whereby 20% of the direct costs will be assigned to indirect expenses. The total costs are listed in Table 8.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Material** & **Unit** & **Quantity** & **Unit Cost** & **Total Cost** \\ \hline Fine soil & m\({}^{3}\) & 0.009 & 3.1400 & 0.0283 \\ Fine sand & m\({}^{3}\) & 0.006 & 5.3600 & 0.0322 \\ Straw & Saco & 0.001 & 7.0000 & 0.0070 \\ Water & m\({}^{3}\) & 0.008 & 0.6200 & 0.0050 \\ Adobe brick & u & 13.0000 & 0.1637 & 2.1281 \\  & & & **TOTAL (A)** & **2.2006** \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 6: Costs of materials for installing 1 m square of adobe brick (10 \(\times\) 20 \(\times\) 40 cm).  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Description** & & **Cost (USD)** & **Participation (\%)** \\ \hline Raw materials & M & 0.0891 & 54.5 \\ Labor force & O & 0.0136 & 8.3 \\ Tools and machines & E & 0.0276 & 16.8 \\ Energy waste \({}^{1}\) & K & 0.0061 & 3.7 \\  & **DIRECT COST–DC** & 0.1364 & \\  & **(M + O + E + K)** & 0.0273 & 16.7 \\ Indirect cost & ID & 0.0273 & 16.7 \\  & **TOTAL (DC + ID)** & 0.1637 & 100 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} \({}^{1}\) Includes transportation at approximately 5 km.  
\end{table}
Table 5: Cost of fabrication of a brick of adobe (10 \(\times\) 20 \(\times\) 40 cm).