HIGHWAY COLLUSION DETECTION SYSTEM USER'S MANUAL. FINAL REPORT

The Highway Collusion Detection System (HCDS) is a bid-rigging detection software package for highway construction contracts. HCDS is designed to monitor highway construction projects to help determine which firms might be establishing their prices in a noncompetitive manner. When collusion is suggested by HCDS, traditional methods of subpoena and document searches should be instituted. The computerized system has the advantage of screening for and pinpointing those firms that appear to be the most flagrant violators of antitrust laws. The identification of potential colluders is an analytical task which is accomplished by interactively executing some or all of the 22 routines contained in HCDS. These routines include both general screening devices and more directed investigatory procedures designed to examine a particularly suspect group of firms and projects. It is the task of the analyst to move from the general screening commands to the more specific procedures necessary to identify collusive patterns and, thereby, the subset of firms potentially engaged in bid rigging. The User's Manual is one of ten reports required by FIPS guidelines for software development and documentation. It describes functions performed by the software in non-ADP terminology so that a user organization can determine its applicability and when and how to use it.