arrow
Return

TAB Bid Irregularity: Data-Driven Model and Its Application

delete2021-09-01
delete18
PRE
AI
A
Abdolmajid Erfani
K
Kunqi Zhang
Q
Qingbin Cui *
DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000958delete
deleteOriginal
deleteOriginal request for help
deleteShare
deleteSave
Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Noncompetitive and collusive bidding behaviors have recently become a major concern in public projects. Identifying the bidders involved in price manipulation protects the public interest as well as market integrity. However, the literature lacks an easy and fast approach to detecting abnormal bidding behaviors. This study fills this gap by presenting a data-driven model, referred to as Test of Abnormal Bid (TAB), for fast detection of price irregularity based on Benford's law, which is widely used for fraud detection in the auditing and financial industry. Applying TAB to a recent West Virginia legal case, where paving companies established a monopoly to manipulate and inflate material costs, demonstrates how the model helps public agencies detect irregular bid patterns and possible price manipulations. The authors analyzed more than 100,000 asphalt bid items from 2011 to 2020 to test and validate this proposed model. Results revealed that TAB is highly effective in flagging irregular bidding behaviors and reporting the source of irregularities. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by introducing a rapid, easy, and low-cost approach to detecting and monitoring potential collusive pricing practices.
Keywords:
Bidding
Price manipulation
Benford's law
Data analytics
Test of abnormal bid (TAB)

Journal

J
Journal of Management in Engineering
IF:
7
Papers:
3.1K
Citations:
6.8K

Organization

University System of Maryland cover
University System of Maryland
Scholars:
6.5W
Papers: 5.6W
Citations: 113
Cited Papers

Cited Papers

Hypermethylation of miR-338-3p and Impact of its Suppression on Cell Metastasis Through N-Cadherin Accumulation at the Cell -Cell Junction and Degradation of MMP in Gastric Cancer
err2018-10-11
err0
errOAAI
errBo Guo; Jing Zhang; Qian Li; Zhenghao Zhao; Wenjing Wang; Kaiyue Zhou; Xiaofei Wang; Dongdong Tong; Lingyu Zhao; Juan Yang; Chen Huang
errShare
errSave
Quick Abnormal-Bid-Detection Method for Construction Contract Auctions
err2015-07-01
err27
errOAAI
errBallesteros-Perez, Pablo; Skitmore, Martin; Das, Raj; Luisa del Campo-Hitschfeld, Maria
errShare
errSave
Effect of Corrosive Medium on the Corrosion Resistance of FeCrMoCB Amorphous Alloy Coating
err2011-07-01
err0
PREAI
errQing Jun Chen; Lin Li Hu; Xian Liang Zhou; Xiao Zhen Hua; Ying Jun Yang
errShare
errSave
errShare
errSave
Diagnostic value of melanoma inhibitory activity serum marker in the follow-up of patients with stage I or II cutaneous melanoma
err2009-02-01
err0
PREAI
errMaja A. Hofmann; Felix Gussmann; Andreas Fritsche; Susanne Biesold; Bernd Schicke; Ingeborg Küchler; Christiane Voit; Uwe Trefzer
errShare
errSave
researcher View more