{"id":74302,"date":"2026-09-03T16:04:44","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T19:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/?post_type=articles&#038;p=74302"},"modified":"2026-09-03T16:04:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T19:04:44","slug":"price-diving-public-works-procurement-spreadsheet-gaming-change-orders","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/en-us\/content\/technical-articles\/price-diving-public-works-procurement-spreadsheet-gaming-change-orders\/","title":{"rendered":"Price Diving in Public-Works Procurement: How to Identify Artificial Discounts, Spreadsheet Gaming and Change-Order Strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Price diving<\/strong> is a strategy in which a bidder submits an extremely aggressive price to win the competition and enters the contract depending, explicitly or implicitly, on recovering margin during execution. This recovery may be attempted through increased quantities, inclusion of services, scope changes, contract amendments, claims, requests for restoration of economic-financial equilibrium or other changes that reduce the advantage obtained by the Administration in the procurement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The concept should not be confused with a legitimate discount. A company may have superior productivity, lower indirect overhead, better logistics, inventory, technology, commercial strategy or purchasing conditions that allow it to offer a significantly lower price and still execute the scope with quality. The problem arises when the proposal, when technically examined, is not sustainable under the original conditions of the notice and its economic rationale depends on the contract changing later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the public manager, therefore, the correct question is not merely \u201cis the price too low?\u201d The question is: <strong>is the proposal economically executable exactly as submitted, or does its viability depend on future changes that transfer cost back to the Administration?<\/strong> This distinction connects feasibility, unit prices, BDI, productivity, spreadsheet gaming, contract amendments and contract inspection. It is also one of the keys to preventing an apparently economical procurement from ending in an expensive, conflict-ridden or stalled contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is price diving and why does the TCU treat it as a real risk?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) has expressly used the Portuguese expression <em>mergulho de pre\u00e7os<\/em> \u2014 literally, \u201cprice diving\u201d \u2014 to describe the tactic of submitting very low amounts with the objective of winning a procurement and later seeking compensation during execution. In Ruling 1,236\/2012-Plenary, the Court examined a situation in which there were indications that the aggressive price did not represent competitive efficiency alone, but a strategy whose contractual sustainability was questionable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This precedent is important because it helps separate three different phenomena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, there is a <strong>legitimate competitive discount<\/strong>. The bidder knows its costs, assumes business risks consistent with the notice and offers a lower price because it can execute better or with a lower margin. This conduct is desirable: competition exists precisely so that the Administration can obtain more advantageous proposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Second, there is an <strong>unfeasible proposal<\/strong>, a situation in which the price does not cover the costs and obligations necessary to execute the scope under the contracted conditions. Here the problem is the economic or technical infeasibility of the offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Third, there is <strong>price diving as a contractual strategy<\/strong>. In this case, the initial proposal may be knowingly submitted with very compressed margins or with an artificial distribution of prices, counting on subsequent changes to restore profitability. The risk is not only in the total amount, but in the economic behavior of the bill of quantities and the expectation of future contract modification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ruling 2,640\/2019-Plenary adds an essential point: there is no procedural mechanism capable of preventing in advance a bidder from submitting an extremely low bid. The Administration\u2019s protection lies in defining acceptability criteria and subsequently evaluating the feasibility of the winning proposal. In other words, the competition produces the price; cost engineering and technical analysis must verify whether that price represents real efficiency or merely shifts the problem into execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This distinction is especially relevant in public works and engineering services because the contract is not an instantaneous purchase. Between the proposal and final acceptance there are design, mobilization, supplies, labor, productivity, measurements, field changes, interferences, risks, schedule, claims and inspection decisions. A poorly structured proposal can survive the award process and reveal its fragility only months later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How price diving works as an economic model<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Price diving normally does not appear in the process as an explicit declaration. No bidder states that it intends to win cheaply and amend the contract later. The pattern must be identified through the coherence \u2014 or incoherence \u2014 among the proposal, cost composition, unit-price behavior and the facts of execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A useful way to understand the phenomenon is to observe its economic sequence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stage 1: win the competition at any cost<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bidder reduces the global price to a level at which more conservative competitors stop following the bids. The reduction may be homogeneous, but the risk increases when it is distributed selectively: some items receive very deep discounts, while others remain close to or above reference levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bidding mode may intensify competitive pressure, especially when successive bids turn price into the main variable perceived by participants. This does not mean that the <a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/modo-disputa-aberto-fechado-licitacoes-engenharia-lei-14133\/\">open bidding mode is inappropriate<\/a>, but it reinforces the need for a technical validation stage after the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stage 2: assume a contract whose margin is insufficient under the original conditions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After award, the contractor must execute exactly the procured scope, respecting specifications, quantities, productivity, quality, labor charges, schedule, site overhead, mobilization and the other costs embedded in the proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the margin was merely reduced but remains positive and technically justifiable, there is no problem. If, however, a relevant part of the contract was priced below its real economic cost or depends on assumptions incompatible with the project, immediate pressure arises on cash flow and contract performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stage 3: seek changes that alter the real economic equation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recovery may be attempted through different paths:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>increasing quantities precisely in items with unit prices more favorable to the contractor;<\/li><li>reducing or suppressing heavily discounted items;<\/li><li>including new services under economic conditions different from the initial proposal;<\/li><li>alleging design omissions that could have been identified before the proposal;<\/li><li>requesting changes in execution methodology;<\/li><li>pressuring for substitution of materials or solutions;<\/li><li>claims for time extensions with increased indirect costs;<\/li><li>requests for economic-financial rebalancing based on risks already allocated to the contractor;<\/li><li>attempting to turn a business-pricing error into an extraordinary event;<\/li><li>fragmenting small changes that, taken together, significantly alter the economic outcome of the contract.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The critical point is that <strong>legitimate amendments and legitimate claims do exist<\/strong>. The Administration cannot simply presume bad faith whenever a change occurs. Control must demonstrate causation, responsibility, foreseeability, adherence to the design and economic impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Situation<\/td><td>Main characteristic<\/td><td>Expected treatment<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Competitive discount<\/td><td>Lower price sustained by real efficiency<\/td><td>Acceptance if the proposal is feasible<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Unfeasible price<\/td><td>Costs and obligations do not fit within the amount offered<\/td><td>Due diligence and judgment under Law 14,133 and applicable case law<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Price diving<\/td><td>Strategy of winning with a price whose margin depends on future changes<\/td><td>Analysis of proposal structure and strict control of changes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Spreadsheet gaming<\/td><td>Changes in quantities or composition reduce the original economic advantage<\/td><td>Preservation of the global discount and correction of the change<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Legitimate rebalancing<\/td><td>Event allocated contractually to the Administration or capable of disrupting the initial equation<\/td><td>Technically demonstrated restoration<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Business error<\/td><td>Bidder misestimated productivity, costs or risks it assumed<\/td><td>As a rule, should not be transferred to the Administration<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where Law 14,133 protects the Administration against this behavior<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-a3a-destaque\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A procurement vulnerable to price diving often reveals the problem even before the bidding session: weak acceptability criteria, insufficiently analytical cost sheets, an ambiguous risk matrix and inadequate rules for due diligence and contract amendments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An independent review of the procurement notice makes it possible to test these points before the competition turns a documentary flaw into contractual risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/servicos\/planejamento\/revisao-tecnica-edital-anexos-licitacoes-engenharia\/\">Learn about Technical Review of Procurement Notices and Annexes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Law 14,133\/2021 does not use the expression \u201cprice diving,\u201d but it contains a chain of mechanisms that, when correctly applied, significantly reduces the space for this strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first mechanism appears during proposal evaluation. Art. 59 requires disqualification of proposals with unfeasible prices or whose feasibility is not demonstrated when required. For public works and engineering services, \u00a73 requires the analysis to consider <strong>global price, quantities and relevant unit prices<\/strong>, observing the acceptability criteria established in the notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This provision is decisive because it prevents the Administration from looking only at the global amount. A proposal may appear advantageous in total while carrying unit-price distortions capable of producing future economic loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Art. 56, \u00a75 complements this protection. After judgment, the winner of a public-works or engineering-services procurement must revise and submit schedules of quantities and unit costs, with detailed BDI and social charges, adjusted to the final value of the winning proposal. The Law itself states that these unit prices may serve as benchmarks for possible subsequent amendments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The legislative message is clear: <strong>the winning global price does not eliminate the importance of the internal structure of the proposal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After contracting, protection becomes even more explicit. Arts. 124 to 132 govern contract changes, limits, pricing of new services and restoration of economic-financial equilibrium. For spreadsheet gaming, art. 128 is central: in public works and engineering services, the percentage difference between the global contract value and the global reference price <strong>may not be reduced in favor of the contractor by amendments that modify the bill of quantities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is exactly the kind of protection required against a strategy of later recovering the discount granted in the procurement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rule does not prohibit amendments. It prohibits an amendment from destroying the economic advantage that justified the contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Decree 7,983\/2013, applicable to the preparation of reference budgets for public works and engineering services funded by the Federal Budget and also relevant to federal transfers under the conditions it establishes, contains similar logic. Art. 14 requires that the percentage difference between the global contracted value and the global reference price not be reduced in favor of the contractor by changes to the cost sheet. The Decree also requires price acceptability criteria and a specific budget for amendments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the manager, protection should be understood as a continuous line:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>consistent reference budget \u2192 notice with acceptability criteria \u2192 feasibility analysis \u2192 reading of unit prices \u2192 contracting \u2192 economic baseline \u2192 change control \u2192 preservation of the original discount.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Without this continuity, each stage may appear regular in isolation while the contract\u2019s economic outcome progressively deteriorates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Unfeasible price, price diving and spreadsheet gaming are not the same thing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proximity of these concepts often creates confusion, especially when the issue first appears during the bidding phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An <a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/proposta-abaixo-75-preco-inexequivel-lei-14133\/\">unfeasible price<\/a> is a question of execution capability: can the bidder fully perform the scope for the amount offered?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Price diving is a broader question of <strong>economic strategy<\/strong>: was the proposal built to be sustainable on its own, or does it depend on later changes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spreadsheet gaming, in turn, is a specific form of deterioration of the original economic advantage, usually associated with increasing items whose unit prices are unfavorable to the Administration and reducing heavily discounted items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The TCU has addressed spreadsheet gaming for many years. Ruling 1,618\/2019-Plenary highlights the need to analyze unit prices in lowest-global-price procurements precisely to curb the practice. Ruling 2,373\/2015-Plenary reinforces that unit prices above reference levels pose a threat to economic advantage when those items may have their quantities increased through amendments. Ruling 1,721\/2016-Plenary shows that spreadsheet gaming may be characterized by the economic effects of the change, regardless of simple proof of the agents\u2019 subjective intent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This distinction is important because inspection does not need to operate as a psychological investigation of the bidder. The technical focus should be on the facts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>what the original global discount was;<\/li><li>how that discount was distributed among the items;<\/li><li>which items increased or decreased;<\/li><li>what the technical justification for the change was;<\/li><li>who assumed the corresponding risk;<\/li><li>how the change modified the effective global discount;<\/li><li>whether new services were priced according to legal criteria and references;<\/li><li>whether the contract remained economically more advantageous after the change.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Intent may be relevant in sanctioning or accountability proceedings, but economic protection of the Administration begins earlier: it is enough to recognize that a given change destroys the advantage originally obtained and correct it under the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The biggest mistake is analyzing only the global discount<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Imagine a public work budgeted by the Administration at R$ 10 million. A bidder wins at R$ 8 million, representing a global discount of 20%. At first glance, the result looks excellent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the bill of quantities may hide three groups of items:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>services A, with a 40% discount;<\/li><li>services B, with a 20% discount;<\/li><li>services C, with virtually no discount or even close to the reference limit.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If services A are reduced during execution and services C increase, the contract may remain formally within amendment limits and still lose a relevant portion of the original economic advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is why Law 14,133 requires, in art. 59, \u00a73, evaluation of relevant quantities and unit prices. It is also why the TCU insists on unit-price analysis even in lowest-global-price procurements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The manager needs to abandon the idea that \u201cthe total price is below the budget, so everything is fine.\u201d This reasoning is insufficient for public works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Discount curve by item<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A simple tool is to calculate, for each relevant item, the proposal discount relative to the reference price and compare this percentage with the global discount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Item<\/td><td>Reference<\/td><td>Proposal<\/td><td>Item discount<\/td><td>Risk reading<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Earthworks<\/td><td>R$ 1,000,000<\/td><td>R$ 550,000<\/td><td>45%<\/td><td>discount far above the global rate<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Structure<\/td><td>R$ 2,500,000<\/td><td>R$ 2,000,000<\/td><td>20%<\/td><td>consistent with the global rate<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Installations<\/td><td>R$ 2,000,000<\/td><td>R$ 1,750,000<\/td><td>12.5%<\/td><td>discount below the global rate<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Paving<\/td><td>R$ 1,500,000<\/td><td>R$ 1,470,000<\/td><td>2%<\/td><td>high sensitivity to quantity increases<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This table does not prove an irregularity. It shows <strong>where inspection should concentrate its attention<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If an item with only a 2% discount has a high potential for quantity growth, any change can quickly reduce the global advantage. If another item with a 45% discount has a high probability of being suppressed because of a design deficiency, the economic risk is even greater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/pesquisa-precos-obras-servicos-engenharia-lei-14133\/\">Price research and the reference budget<\/a> therefore stop being simple preparatory requirements. They are the baseline used to test the proposal and control execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Warning signs before contracting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No single sign proves price diving. The strength of the diagnosis lies in combining evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Discount far above the competition pattern<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A proposal significantly below the others requires understanding whether a concrete competitive advantage exists. The difference may be legitimate, but it needs to be explainable through costs, productivity, strategy or real commercial conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Excessively compressed BDI without operational coherence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BDI represents components such as head-office overhead, risks, insurance, guarantees, taxes and business remuneration. Companies may operate with different margins, but an artificially reduced BDI may signal that unavoidable expenses have been shifted or simply ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The analysis should not turn reference percentages into rigid tables. It should verify whether the economic composition of the proposal supports the actual costs of the contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Productivity far above references without technical substantiation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ruling 2,009\/2025-Plenary is particularly relevant. The TCU recognized that a bidder may submit productivity coefficients different from the Administration\u2019s references, but required the public authority to evaluate input-cost consistency, compatibility of productivity with execution and potential spreadsheet gaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This avoids two opposite errors: automatically rejecting an efficient company or accepting impossible productivity without analysis merely because it was written into a cost composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Unit prices with asymmetric distribution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heavily discounted items coexisting with items close to the reference ceiling deserve analysis. The risk increases when the items most expensive for the Administration have a high probability of quantity growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Undersized site overhead and mobilization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These costs depend directly on duration, site structure, team, equipment, temporary facilities and management. When they are incompatible with the schedule and size of the work, the contractor may begin execution already under pressure from indirect costs above those assumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Financial schedule incompatible with capital requirements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A company can execute a low-margin contract and still be financially sound. The problem is when the cash flow assumed in the proposal depends on early measurements, exceptional productivity or payment for items before their actual execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Foreseeable new services absent from the proposal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When certain services are technically necessary for the scope and could have been identified in the design, notice or site visit, their absence needs to be clarified before contracting. Otherwise, the contract may begin with an implicit list of \u201cnew services\u201d to be discussed later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Feasibility due diligence must test the economic model, not merely request a declaration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/diligencia-exequibilidade-roteiro-tecnico-documentos-decisao\/\">feasibility due diligence<\/a> loses value when it is limited to asking the bidder whether it confirms that it can execute for the offered price. The answer will predictably be yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Technical due diligence needs to test the assumptions that make the proposal viable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the documents and clarifications that may be relevant, depending on the case, are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>analytical cost compositions for the main services;<\/li><li>quotations or commercial conditions for critical inputs;<\/li><li>origin of productivity coefficients that differ from the references;<\/li><li>BDI composition;<\/li><li>social charges considered;<\/li><li>planned site-overhead structure;<\/li><li>owned or rented equipment and respective costs;<\/li><li>mobilization plan;<\/li><li>physical-financial schedule compatible with the proposed price;<\/li><li>procurement strategy for materials with the greatest economic weight;<\/li><li>evidence of special conditions that justify an exceptional discount;<\/li><li>explanation for items whose discounts differ greatly from the global discount;<\/li><li>assumptions used for market, logistics and execution risks.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The technical question is not \u201cdoes the company have money?\u201d It is \u201care the assumptions that produce this price verifiable and compatible with the scope?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The 75% controversy does not eliminate the need for technical analysis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Art. 59, \u00a74 of Law 14,133 establishes a 75% budget parameter for public works and engineering services. TCU case law has undergone relevant evolution regarding the nature of this parameter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ruling 2,198\/2023-Plenary adopted an interpretation of objective infeasibility below this percentage. Subsequently, Rulings 465\/2024, 803\/2024 and 2,378\/2024-Plenary began to treat the criterion as a rebuttable presumption, with the possibility \u2014 and, in certain formulations, the duty \u2014 to allow demonstration of feasibility. Later decisions also recorded this interpretive line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For price diving, the central point is that <strong>the 75% parameter does not replace cost engineering<\/strong>. A proposal may be above 75% and still contain dangerous distortions. There may also be a proposal below the parameter whose feasibility is discussed in the process according to applicable case law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The manager should therefore follow the current understanding of the TCU and the competent legal advisory body, but should never reduce the analysis to a mathematical test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/garantia-adicional-85-lei-14133-art-59-5\/\">additional guarantee required for proposals below 85%<\/a> is also a mitigation mechanism, not a certificate of viability. It increases the Administration\u2019s asset protection but does not correct inconsistent cost composition or prevent spreadsheet gaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How spreadsheet gaming turns a good procurement into a bad contract<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spreadsheet gaming is the point at which the problem stops being merely potential and begins changing the economic outcome of the procurement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ruling 1,618\/2019-Plenary summarizes the mechanism: it occurs when changes increase quantities of items with unit prices above market and reduce items with lower prices, producing gains for the contractor at the expense of the advantage initially obtained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ruling 2,373\/2015-Plenary shows why this is dangerous even when the initial global price is within budget. Individually high unit prices may remain harmless while original quantities are maintained. The loss appears when unfavorable items grow or heavily discounted items are reduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ruling 467\/2015-Plenary reinforces preservation of the global discount using the cost system adopted in the procurement as reference. Ruling 1,874\/2007-Plenary consolidated guidance that amendments should not suppress the economic advantage initially obtained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Law 14,133 turned this concern into an express rule in art. 128.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Simplified example<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Consider a public work with a reference budget of R$ 20 million and a contract awarded for R$ 16 million, a global discount of 20%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During execution:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>a package originally budgeted at R$ 4 million and contracted at R$ 2.4 million is reduced by half;<\/li><li>another package budgeted at R$ 3 million and contracted at R$ 2.95 million has its quantity increased significantly.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even if each change has an engineering justification, the Administration needs to recalculate the aggregate effect on the relationship between contract and reference. If the effective global discount falls substantially, the contract may be absorbing exactly the kind of economic shift the legislation seeks to prevent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Inspection must then act in two dimensions simultaneously:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>verify whether the change is technically necessary and legally admissible;<\/li><li>verify whether its pricing preserves the original economic advantage.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first analysis without the second is incomplete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A contract amendment is not synonymous with irregularity \u2014 the problem is using it to recover a business error or discount<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Real public works change. Field conditions may differ from available information; the Administration may change solutions; unforeseeable events may occur; quantities may need adjustment; new services may become indispensable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Law 14,133 itself governs these situations in arts. 124 and following. Therefore, a \u201czero amendment\u201d policy can be as bad as an overly permissive one. The objective should be <strong>zero amendments without a demonstrated technical and economic cause<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To analyze a change request, the manager should separate at least four questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Did the cause exist before the proposal?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the condition was identifiable in the design, procurement documents, site visit or obligations expressly allocated to the contractor, there is strong reason to question transferring the cost to the Administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who assumed the risk?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/matriz-alocacao-riscos-contratos-engenharia-lei-14133\/\">risk allocation matrix<\/a> needs to be consulted before discussing value. An event may generate a real cost for the contractor and still belong to the risk it priced and assumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does the change actually alter the contractor\u2019s obligations?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Art. 130 requires restoration of equilibrium when a unilateral change increases or decreases obligations. This does not authorize restoration of margin lost because of a proposal error; it requires identifying the causal impact of the change determined by the Administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does the amendment price preserve the procurement advantage?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the question in art. 128. Even when the change is legitimate, the pricing methodology cannot turn the amendment into a vehicle for eliminating the original global discount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The specific content on <a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/aditivo-contratual-obras-servicos-engenharia-lei-14133\/\">contract amendments in public works and engineering services<\/a> examines limits and cases in greater depth. For price diving, the additional point is to observe <strong>the timing pattern of requests<\/strong>. A sequence of claims shortly after the notice to proceed may indicate that fragile assumptions were already present in the proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to structure the procurement notice to reduce room for price diving<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Combating the problem begins long before the bidding session. A technically weak notice facilitates both artificial discounts and subsequent claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Define global and unit-price acceptability criteria<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Art. 59, \u00a73 authorizes and requires an approach compatible with market specificities. The criteria need to indicate how relevant unit prices, critical items and amounts above references will be treated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Require sufficiently analytical cost sheets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overly aggregated sheets make it difficult to identify where the discount is concentrated. The detail must be proportionate to scope risk and compatible with measurement and future change-management methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Align design, budget and measurement criteria<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the cost-sheet structure does not correspond to the design or measurement method, price comparison loses quality. The same item needs a clear technical definition, unit, quantity and acceptance criterion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Treat divergent productivity with a method<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is not reasonable to prohibit any productivity rate different from SINAPI or another reference. Nor is it prudent to accept extraordinary coefficients without justification. The notice should allow objective evaluation of the calculation basis and the conditions supporting productivity gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Define documentation for due diligence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is useful to state in the notice that proposals showing signs of infeasibility may be subject to technical due diligence, specifying examples of documents without creating a rigid ritual that prevents analysis of particular situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Structure the risk matrix and scope correctly<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The more ambiguous the allocation of risks, the greater the room for a bidder to price aggressively and later attempt to transfer unfavorable events. Design, Terms of Reference, risk matrix and contract draft need to speak the same language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Preserve traceability of the reference budget<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The budget used for procurement should remain available as a baseline throughout execution. Without controlled versions of cost compositions, base date, BDI and quantities, it will be difficult to verify whether an amendment preserves the global discount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/servicos\/planejamento\/revisao-tecnica-edital-anexos-licitacoes-engenharia\/\">technical review of the procurement notice and its annexes<\/a> is especially valuable here because price-diving risk does not arise only from bidder conduct: it is also facilitated by incomplete design, ambiguous measurement criteria, an unbalanced cost sheet and insufficient acceptability rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to inspect a contract that began with a very aggressive discount<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-a3a-destaque\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After signature, control needs to move from the winning price to preservation of the real economic equation: quantities, measurements, field events, causation, productivity and the global discount after each change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Technical support for inspection reinforces this traceability without replacing the formal authority of the contract manager and inspector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/servicos\/implementacao\/apoio-tecnico-fiscalizacao-obras-contratos-engenharia\/\">See Technical Support for Public-Works Inspection<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the winning proposal presents a relevant discount, inspection should enter the project knowing the economic structure of the contract. This does not mean treating the company as suspect. It means objectively managing the most sensitive points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Create an economic baseline before the notice to proceed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The baseline should record:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>reference budget and base date;<\/li><li>final winning proposal;<\/li><li>global discount;<\/li><li>discount by relevant item;<\/li><li>BDI and social charges;<\/li><li>critical unit-price compositions;<\/li><li>physical-financial schedule;<\/li><li>items with the greatest risk of quantity changes;<\/li><li>responsibilities in the risk matrix;<\/li><li>technical assumptions presented during feasibility due diligence.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This initial snapshot makes it possible to compare any future change with the effective conditions of the proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Monitor the pattern of early claims<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Change requests emerging in the first weeks deserve special attention. They may reveal incompatibilities not perceived before contracting or a strategy of economic repositioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The question should be objective: <strong>did the fact supporting the claim arise after the proposal, or did it already exist and could it have been considered?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Connect measurement, change and price<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/boletim-medicao-obras-servicos-engenharia-evidencias-pagamento\/\">public-works measurement report<\/a> is not merely a payment document. It provides evidence of quantities actually executed and therefore feeds analysis of variations that may change the economic distribution of the contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Record technical causation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/diario-de-obra-rdo-fiscalizacao-contratos-engenharia\/\">site diary and inspection records<\/a> should document interferences, decisions, unavailability, requests, productivity, mobilized resources and facts capable of supporting or rebutting later claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recalculate the discount after every relevant change<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Do not wait until the end of the contract to discover that the original advantage disappeared. For every amendment with a significant economic impact, test:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>contract value before the change;<\/li><li>corresponding reference price;<\/li><li>global discount before the change;<\/li><li>discount on the changed items;<\/li><li>global discount after the change;<\/li><li>justification for any unavoidable changes in the economic relationship.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Art. 128 provides the rule; inspection needs to produce the calculation record that demonstrates compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Practical risk-sign matrix<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The matrix below is not intended to condemn a proposal. It organizes technical screening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Sign<\/td><td>Low risk<\/td><td>Attention<\/td><td>High risk<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Global discount<\/td><td>consistent with market<\/td><td>significantly below the others<\/td><td>very aggressive without economic explanation<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Discount distribution<\/td><td>relatively homogeneous<\/td><td>some items deviate from the average<\/td><td>items likely to increase have little discount<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Productivity<\/td><td>proven or usual<\/td><td>above reference with partial justification<\/td><td>extraordinary without technical substantiation<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>BDI<\/td><td>consistent with structure<\/td><td>very low margin<\/td><td>unavoidable expenses absent<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Site overhead<\/td><td>compatible with duration<\/td><td>moderate undersizing<\/td><td>incompatible with team and duration<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Financial schedule<\/td><td>sustainable cash flow<\/td><td>high dependence on early measurements<\/td><td>apparent need for economic anticipation<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Foreseeable new services<\/td><td>none<\/td><td>few ambiguous points<\/td><td>obvious gaps already identifiable at procurement<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Early claims<\/td><td>genuinely new events<\/td><td>frequent requests<\/td><td>immediate attempt to redefine scope\/price<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Quantity change<\/td><td>distributed and technically causal<\/td><td>impact on sensitive items<\/td><td>increase in expensive items and suppression of discounted items<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Rebalancing<\/td><td>documented extraordinary event<\/td><td>debatable causation<\/td><td>attempt to transfer business risk<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Evidence<\/td><td>robust contemporaneous documentation<\/td><td>incomplete records<\/td><td>claims supported only by later narrative<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Global discount after amendment<\/td><td>preserved<\/td><td>approaches reference<\/td><td>reduction in favor of the contractor<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The value of this approach is to remove the discussion from intuition. Instead of stating \u201cthe company dived on price,\u201d the Administration records verifiable facts and reasoned decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Three scenarios the manager needs to distinguish<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Scenario A \u2014 legitimate aggressive discount<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A company submits a price 18% below the budget. Its unit prices maintain a coherent distribution; it demonstrates a supply agreement with a manufacturer, owned equipment, a construction method that reduces equipment hours and proven productivity on similar projects. BDI is lower, but all necessary expenses are included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is no technical reason to reject the proposal merely because the margin appears small. The competitive advantage is demonstrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Scenario B \u2014 high economic-risk proposal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another company submits a 24% discount. Its cost compositions indicate productivity twice the reference with no explanation; site overhead is insufficient for the minimum team; several materials are quoted below prices provided by the suppliers themselves; the schedule depends on accelerated measurements at the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this case, the Administration has concrete elements to deepen due diligence. The problem is not the discount percentage in isolation; it is the incompatibility between assumptions and operational reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Scenario C \u2014 price diving followed by spreadsheet gaming<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A third company wins with a deep discount. Some high-quantity services are far below reference, while other items are priced nearly in full. After mobilization, successive requests arise to reduce the most heavily discounted services and increase quantities of items with little discount, along with inclusion of new services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here a typical economic signature of the risk discussed in this article appears. The Administration needs to test the technical cause of each change and, simultaneously, apply the rule preserving the global discount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The difference among the three scenarios cannot be perceived merely from procurement ranking. It requires cost engineering, contract interpretation and execution traceability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Economic-financial rebalancing cannot correct a pricing-formation error<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-a3a-destaque\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Claims and amendments require separating an actual execution event, assumed risk, business error and a change determined by the Administration. This separation is decisive to prevent a loss already embedded in the proposal from being transferred to the public authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Independent technical analysis reconstructs causation, impact, price and contract adherence before the administrative decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/servicos\/implementacao\/analise-tecnica-aditivos-alteracoes-escopo-pleitos-contratos-engenharia\/\">Learn about Technical Analysis of Amendments and Claims<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rebalancing protects the economic-financial equation originally contracted when legally relevant events change obligations or conditions that did not belong to the risk assumed by the contractor. It does not exist to guarantee profit or prevent business losses resulting from a poorly calculated proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This distinction is indispensable in contracts that began with a deep discount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the company underestimated productivity, logistics, material consumption, mobilization or indirect costs that were within the ordinary risk of execution, allowing automatic rebalancing would turn the Administration into guarantor of the bidder\u2019s commercial strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the other hand, if the Administration determines a unilateral change that increases obligations, art. 130 requires restoration of equilibrium in the same amendment. Unforeseeable events or foreseeable events with incalculable consequences may also support restoration under the legal conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The appropriate test involves:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>identify the triggering event;<\/li><li>establish when it occurred;<\/li><li>verify whether it was known or foreseeable on the proposal date;<\/li><li>consult the risk matrix;<\/li><li>measure the actual effect on costs and schedule;<\/li><li>exclude losses resulting from the contractor\u2019s own inefficiency;<\/li><li>reconstruct the original equation without creating a new advantage.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The collection already contains content on <a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/reequilibrio-economico-financeiro-contratos-engenharia\/\">economic-financial rebalancing in engineering contracts<\/a>. The connection with price diving is direct: the more aggressive the proposal, the greater the care required not to convert assumed business risk into a restoration paid by the public authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The role of consulting engineering and technical support for inspection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Protection against price diving requires hybrid expertise. Legal interpretation of the contract alone is not enough, nor is construction knowledge alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is necessary to integrate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>budgeting and cost engineering;<\/li><li>design and quantities;<\/li><li>schedule and productivity;<\/li><li>risk management;<\/li><li>contract documentation;<\/li><li>field inspection;<\/li><li>measurement analysis;<\/li><li>change control;<\/li><li>pricing of amendments;<\/li><li>claim causation;<\/li><li>preservation of economic advantage.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This combination is typical of technical support to the owner or Owner\u2019s Engineering. The objective is not to replace public authority or the designated inspector, but to provide specialized analysis so that decisions on price, change and claims are technically reasoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In more complex contracts, <a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/servicos\/implementacao\/apoio-tecnico-fiscalizacao-obras-contratos-engenharia\/\">technical support for inspection<\/a> can function as a second technical line to verify measurements, quantity variations, change justifications and consistency of calculation records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/fiscalizacao-por-evidencias-obras-publicas-rastreabilidade-tecnica\/\">Evidence-based inspection<\/a> is particularly suitable because it makes it possible to reconstruct the decision chain: field fact \u2192 record \u2192 analysis \u2192 decision \u2192 impact \u2192 price \u2192 measurement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The better this traceability, the lower the chance that economically unfavorable changes will be approved merely because of operational pressure to \u201ckeep the project moving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When price diving ends in a stalled project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Economic loss to the Administration is not the only risk. An insufficient proposal can create inability to continue execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The pattern normally follows progressive deterioration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>insufficient cash flow;<\/li><li>reduction of staff;<\/li><li>delays in purchasing materials;<\/li><li>productivity below plan;<\/li><li>default with suppliers;<\/li><li>controversial measurement requests;<\/li><li>increase in claims;<\/li><li>schedule slowdown;<\/li><li>attempts at informal renegotiation;<\/li><li>threat of abandonment or termination;<\/li><li>actual stoppage.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is why price diving connects directly with the <a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/obras-publicas-paralisadas-guia-gestor-diagnosticar-destravar-evitar-paralisacao\/\">guide to stalled public works<\/a>. One of the most effective ways to avoid a stalled project is to prevent the contract from starting with an economic equation that only works if the contract is changed later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Economy should not be measured in the minutes of the bidding session. It must survive until acceptance of the scope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Protection protocol for the public manager<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Practical application can be organized in twelve steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Ensure that design, budget and quantities are sufficiently mature before procurement.<\/li><li>Define acceptability criteria for the global price and relevant unit prices.<\/li><li>Preserve the complete record of the reference budget and its base date.<\/li><li>After the competition, analyze not only the global amount but the distribution of discounts.<\/li><li>Identify items with the highest probability of increase or suppression.<\/li><li>Examine productivity, BDI, site overhead and critical assumptions.<\/li><li>When there are indications, perform substantive feasibility due diligence.<\/li><li>Record the justifications supporting acceptance of the proposal.<\/li><li>Before the notice to proceed, create an economic baseline for the contract.<\/li><li>During execution, document events and causation contemporaneously.<\/li><li>For each amendment, test technical necessity, risk allocation and preservation of the global discount.<\/li><li>Before recognizing rebalancing, exclude pricing errors and business risks originally assumed.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This protocol does not eliminate conflicts, but it changes the Administration\u2019s position. Instead of reacting to each claim in isolation, it begins controlling the economic behavior of the contract as a system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final considerations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Price diving is not synonymous with a high discount and does not authorize presuming bad faith merely because a bidder submitted the lowest proposal. Real competition presupposes freedom for efficient companies to offer aggressive prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The risk appears when the proposal is not self-sufficient under the procurement conditions and depends, to recover profitability, on subsequent contract changes. In that scenario, the savings obtained during the public bidding session may be only apparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adequate protection combines two moments. Before contracting, the Administration needs to evaluate feasibility, unit prices, productivity, BDI and proposal coherence. After contracting, it needs to control quantities, new services, claims, rebalancing and amendments while preserving the economic difference originally achieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Law 14,133 provides strong tools for this, especially in arts. 56, 59 and 124 to 132. Art. 128 summarizes the logic: <strong>the global advantage obtained in procurement may not be returned to the contractor through amendments to the bill of quantities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the most important change in perspective for the manager. The best proposal is not simply the one that wins at the lowest price. It is the one that remains technically feasible, legally sound and economically advantageous until final delivery of the public work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Technical references<\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[1] BRAZIL. Law No. 14,133, of April 1, 2021. Public Procurement and Administrative Contracts Law. Especially arts. 56, 59 and 124 to 132. Available at: [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planalto.gov.br\/ccivil_03\/_ato2019-2022\/2021\/lei\/l14133.htm\">https:\/\/www.planalto.gov.br\/ccivil_03\/_ato2019-2022\/2021\/lei\/l14133.htm<\/a>](<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planalto.gov.br\/ccivil_03\/_ato2019-2022\/2021\/lei\/l14133.htm\">https:\/\/www.planalto.gov.br\/ccivil_03\/_ato2019-2022\/2021\/lei\/l14133.htm<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[2] BRAZIL. Decree No. 7,983, of April 8, 2013. Establishes rules and criteria for preparation of reference budgets for public works and engineering services executed with Federal Government resources. Available at: [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planalto.gov.br\/ccivil_03\/_ato2011-2014\/2013\/decreto\/d7983.htm\">https:\/\/www.planalto.gov.br\/ccivil_03\/_ato2011-2014\/2013\/decreto\/d7983.htm<\/a>](<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planalto.gov.br\/ccivil_03\/_ato2011-2014\/2013\/decreto\/d7983.htm\">https:\/\/www.planalto.gov.br\/ccivil_03\/_ato2011-2014\/2013\/decreto\/d7983.htm<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[3] BRAZILIAN FEDERAL COURT OF ACCOUNTS. Ruling 1,236\/2012-TCU-Plenary. Express reference to the concept of price diving and subsequent search for compensation during execution. Available at: [<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/1236\/2012\/Plen%C3%A1rio\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/1236\/2012\/Plen%C3%A1rio<\/a>](<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/1236\/2012\/Plen%C3%A1rio\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/1236\/2012\/Plen%C3%A1rio<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[4] BRAZILIAN FEDERAL COURT OF ACCOUNTS. Ruling 2,640\/2019-TCU-Plenary. Acceptability criteria and subsequent feasibility evaluation in the face of price-diving risk. Available at: [<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/2640\/2019\/Plen%C3%A1rio\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/2640\/2019\/Plen%C3%A1rio<\/a>](<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/2640\/2019\/Plen%C3%A1rio\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/2640\/2019\/Plen%C3%A1rio<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[5] BRAZILIAN FEDERAL COURT OF ACCOUNTS. Ruling 1,618\/2019-TCU-Plenary. Unit-price analysis and prevention of spreadsheet gaming in lowest-global-price procurements. Available at: [<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/publicacao\/Jogo%2520de\/%2520%2520\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc\/2\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/publicacao\/Jogo%2520de\/%2520%2520\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc\/2<\/a>](<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/publicacao\/Jogo%2520de\/%2520%2520\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc\/2\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/publicacao\/Jogo%2520de\/%2520%2520\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc\/2<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[6] BRAZILIAN FEDERAL COURT OF ACCOUNTS. Ruling 1,721\/2016-TCU-Plenary. Spreadsheet gaming and imbalance resulting from quantity changes. Available at: [<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/publicacao\/Jogo%2520de%2520Planilha\/%2520\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc\/9\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/publicacao\/Jogo%2520de%2520Planilha\/%2520\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc\/9<\/a>](<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/publicacao\/Jogo%2520de%2520Planilha\/%2520\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc\/9\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/publicacao\/Jogo%2520de%2520Planilha\/%2520\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc\/9<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[7] BRAZILIAN FEDERAL COURT OF ACCOUNTS. Ruling 467\/2015-TCU-Plenary. Preservation of the global discount in amendments that modify the bill of quantities. Available at: [<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/467\/2015\/Plen%C3%A1rio\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/467\/2015\/Plen%C3%A1rio<\/a>](<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/467\/2015\/Plen%C3%A1rio\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/467\/2015\/Plen%C3%A1rio<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[8] BRAZILIAN FEDERAL COURT OF ACCOUNTS. Ruling 2,373\/2015-TCU-Plenary. Unit prices, quantity changes and threats to the economic advantage of contracting. Available at: [<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/2373\/2015\/Plen%C3%A1rio\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/2373\/2015\/Plen%C3%A1rio<\/a>](<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/2373\/2015\/Plen%C3%A1rio\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/2373\/2015\/Plen%C3%A1rio<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[9] BRAZILIAN FEDERAL COURT OF ACCOUNTS. Ruling 1,874\/2007-TCU-Plenary. Preservation of the original economic advantage and prevention of spreadsheet gaming in amendments. Available at: [<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/1874\/2007\/Plen%C3%A1rio\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/1874\/2007\/Plen%C3%A1rio<\/a>](<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/1874\/2007\/Plen%C3%A1rio\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/1874\/2007\/Plen%C3%A1rio<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[10] BRAZILIAN FEDERAL COURT OF ACCOUNTS. Ruling 2,009\/2025-TCU-Plenary. Productivity differing from references, feasibility, market prices, SINAPI and potential spreadsheet gaming. Available at: [<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/jurisprudencia-selecionada\/exequibilidade%2520da%2520proposta\/%2520\/score%2520desc%252C%2520COLEGIADO%2520asc%252C%2520ANOACORDAO%2520desc%252C%2520NUMACORDAO%2520desc\/13\/sinonimos%253Dtrue\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/jurisprudencia-selecionada\/exequibilidade%2520da%2520proposta\/%2520\/score%2520desc%252C%2520COLEGIADO%2520asc%252C%2520ANOACORDAO%2520desc%252C%2520NUMACORDAO%2520desc\/13\/sinonimos%253Dtrue<\/a>](<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/jurisprudencia-selecionada\/exequibilidade%2520da%2520proposta\/%2520\/score%2520desc%252C%2520COLEGIADO%2520asc%252C%2520ANOACORDAO%2520desc%252C%2520NUMACORDAO%2520desc\/13\/sinonimos%253Dtrue\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/jurisprudencia-selecionada\/exequibilidade%2520da%2520proposta\/%2520\/score%2520desc%252C%2520COLEGIADO%2520asc%252C%2520ANOACORDAO%2520desc%252C%2520NUMACORDAO%2520desc\/13\/sinonimos%253Dtrue<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[11] BRAZILIAN FEDERAL COURT OF ACCOUNTS. Ruling 2,198\/2023-TCU-Plenary. Application of art. 59, \u00a74, of Law 14,133\/2021 to a proposal below 75% of the budget. Available at: [<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/acordao-completo\/%2A\/NUMACORDAO%253A2198%2520ANOACORDAO%253A2023%2520COLEGIADO%253A%2522Plen%25C3%25A1rio%2522\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc%252C%2520NUMACORDAOINT%2520desc\/0\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/acordao-completo\/%2A\/NUMACORDAO%253A2198%2520ANOACORDAO%253A2023%2520COLEGIADO%253A%2522Plen%25C3%25A1rio%2522\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc%252C%2520NUMACORDAOINT%2520desc\/0<\/a>](<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/acordao-completo\/%2A\/NUMACORDAO%253A2198%2520ANOACORDAO%253A2023%2520COLEGIADO%253A%2522Plen%25C3%25A1rio%2522\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc%252C%2520NUMACORDAOINT%2520desc\/0\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/acordao-completo\/%2A\/NUMACORDAO%253A2198%2520ANOACORDAO%253A2023%2520COLEGIADO%253A%2522Plen%25C3%25A1rio%2522\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc%252C%2520NUMACORDAOINT%2520desc\/0<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[12] BRAZILIAN FEDERAL COURT OF ACCOUNTS. Ruling 465\/2024-TCU-Plenary. Interpretation of art. 59, \u00a7\u00a72 and 4, and rebuttable presumption of infeasibility. Available at: [<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/465\/2024\/Plen%25C3%25A1rio\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/465\/2024\/Plen%25C3%25A1rio<\/a>](<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/465\/2024\/Plen%25C3%25A1rio\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/465\/2024\/Plen%25C3%25A1rio<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[13] BRAZILIAN FEDERAL COURT OF ACCOUNTS. Ruling 803\/2024-TCU-Plenary. Feasibility of proposals in light of art. 59 of Law 14,133\/2021. Available at: [<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/803\/2024\/Plen%25C3%25A1rio\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/803\/2024\/Plen%25C3%25A1rio<\/a>](<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/803\/2024\/Plen%25C3%25A1rio\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/doc\/acordao-completo\/803\/2024\/Plen%25C3%25A1rio<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[14] BRAZILIAN FEDERAL COURT OF ACCOUNTS. Ruling 2,378\/2024-TCU-Plenary. Rebuttable presumption of infeasibility and opportunity to demonstrate proposal viability. Available at: [<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/publicacao\/inexequibilidade\/%2520\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc\/5\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/publicacao\/inexequibilidade\/%2520\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc\/5<\/a>](<a href=\"https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/publicacao\/inexequibilidade\/%2520\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc\/5\">https:\/\/pesquisa.apps.tcu.gov.br\/documento\/publicacao\/inexequibilidade\/%2520\/DTRELEVANCIA%2520desc\/5<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Frequently asked questions<\/summary>\n<div class=\"schema-faq wp-block-yoast-faq-block\"><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-o-que-mergulho-de-pre-os-em-licita-es-87913b19\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">What is price diving in procurement?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">It is the practice of offering an extremely aggressive price to win a procurement when the proposal\u2019s economic sustainability depends on recovering margin during execution, for example through quantity changes, new services, amendments or claims. The term has been used by the TCU, but identifying it requires technical analysis of the circumstances; a low price alone does not prove an irregularity.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-mergulho-de-pre-os-o-mesmo-que-proposta-inexequ--c7d30b9f\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">Is price diving the same as an unfeasible proposal?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">No. Infeasibility concerns the ability to execute the scope for the offered price. Price diving describes an economic strategy in which the contract may depend on future changes to restore margin. The phenomena may coexist, but they are not equivalent.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-o-que-jogo-de-planilha-1de8a001\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">What is spreadsheet gaming?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">It is deterioration of the economic advantage of contracting through changes in the composition or quantities of the cost sheet, especially when items with prices unfavorable to the Administration increase and heavily discounted items decrease. Law 14,133 protects the global discount in art. 128.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-um-desconto-muito-alto-pode-ser-leg-timo-b4d481d6\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">Can a very high discount be legitimate?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">Yes. Efficiency, technology, logistics, inventory, purchasing conditions, owned equipment, lower indirect overhead or commercial strategy may justify aggressive prices. The Administration should verify whether the assumptions are technically plausible and sufficient to execute the scope.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-a-proposta-abaixo-de-75-deve-ser-automaticamente-3d8918c1\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">Should a proposal below 75% be automatically disqualified?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">Art. 59, \u00a74 establishes the 75% parameter for public works and engineering services, but TCU case law has evolved and includes precedents treating the criterion as a rebuttable presumption, allowing demonstration of feasibility. The manager should observe current case law, the procurement notice and applicable legal guidance.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-a-garantia-adicional-abaixo-de-85-elimina-o-risc-13b2fc5f\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">Does the additional guarantee below 85% eliminate price-diving risk?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">No. The additional guarantee increases asset protection but does not correct distorted unit prices, unrealistic productivity, inconsistent BDI or a strategy based on future contract changes.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-como-evitar-que-um-aditivo-elimine-o-desconto-ob-0b42ded4\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">How can an amendment be prevented from eliminating the discount obtained in procurement?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">The Administration should maintain a baseline of the budget and proposal, recalculate the discount after changes and apply art. 128 of Law 14,133, which prevents reduction, in favor of the contractor, of the percentage difference between the global contracted value and the global reference price through amendments to the cost sheet.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-todo-pedido-de-reequil-brio-ap-s-uma-proposta-mu-74c18462\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">Should every rebalancing request after a very low proposal be denied?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">No. Rebalancing may be legitimate when there is a legally relevant event capable of disrupting the economic-financial equation or a change in obligations attributable to the Administration. What should not be transferred to the public authority is business error, inefficiency or risk assumed by the contractor itself.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-quais-itens-devem-receber-maior-aten-o-na-an-lis-9ef0e8bb\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">Which items deserve the most attention when analyzing the proposal?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">Relevant unit prices, items with discounts very different from the global rate, exceptional productivity, BDI, site overhead, mobilization, critical inputs, physical-financial schedule and services with a high probability of quantity changes.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-por-que-mergulho-de-pre-os-pode-levar-paralisa-o-5eb97ead\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">Why can price diving lead to stalled public works?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">If the price does not generate sufficient cash and margin, the contractor may reduce resources, delay purchases, accumulate debts, intensify claims and slow execution. When attempts to recover margin fail, the risk of abandonment or termination increases.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Complementary technical materials<\/summary>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Main content on the topic<\/h4>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/proposta-abaixo-75-preco-inexequivel-lei-14133\/\">Proposal Below 75%: How to Analyze an Unfeasible Price under Law 14,133<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/diligencia-exequibilidade-roteiro-tecnico-documentos-decisao\/\">Feasibility Due Diligence: Technical Roadmap, Documents and Reasoning for the Decision<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/sobrepreco-superfaturamento-preco-inexequivel-diferencas\/\">Overpricing, Overbilling and Unfeasible Prices: Differences and Technical Evidence<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/garantia-adicional-85-lei-14133-art-59-5\/\">Additional Guarantee Below 85%: How to Apply Art. 59 \u00a75 of Law 14,133<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related technical content<\/h4>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/modo-disputa-aberto-fechado-licitacoes-engenharia-lei-14133\/\">Open vs. Closed Bidding Modes under Law 14,133<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/aditivo-contratual-obras-servicos-engenharia-lei-14133\/\">Contract Amendments in Public Works and Engineering Services<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/reequilibrio-economico-financeiro-contratos-engenharia\/\">Economic-Financial Rebalancing in Engineering Contracts<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/matriz-alocacao-riscos-contratos-engenharia-lei-14133\/\">Risk Allocation Matrix in Engineering Contracts<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/fiscalizacao-por-evidencias-obras-publicas-rastreabilidade-tecnica\/\">Evidence-Based Inspection in Public Works<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/artigos-tecnicos\/obras-publicas-paralisadas-guia-gestor-diagnosticar-destravar-evitar-paralisacao\/\">Stalled Public Works: Manager\u2019s Guide<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/guias-tecnicos\/guia-completo-sobre-licitacoes-e-contratos-de-engenharia\/\">Complete Guide to Procurement and Contracts for Public Works and Engineering Services<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/conteudo\/guias-tecnicos\/guia-completo-sobre-engenharia-consultiva\/\">Complete Guide to Consulting Engineering<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related services<\/h4>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/servicos\/planejamento\/revisao-tecnica-edital-anexos-licitacoes-engenharia\/\">Technical Review of Procurement Notices and Annexes for Engineering Procurements<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/servicos\/implementacao\/apoio-tecnico-fiscalizacao-obras-contratos-engenharia\/\">Technical Support for Public-Works and Engineering-Contract Inspection<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com.br\/servicos\/implementacao\/analise-tecnica-aditivos-alteracoes-escopo-pleitos-contratos-engenharia\/\">Technical Analysis of Amendments, Scope Changes and Claims in Engineering Contracts<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n<\/details>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how to identify price diving in public-works procurement, distinguish legitimate discounts from risky bids, and protect the Administration against spreadsheet gaming, change orders and loss of economic advantage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_a3a_global_related_solutions":[],"_a3a_global_related_services":[],"_a3a_global_related_materials":[],"_a3a_post_lang":"en-us","_a3a_translation_group_id":"5587e6c1-01f8-4acd-840a-f787049ea47c","_a3a_i18n_canonical_slug":"price-diving-public-works-procurement-spreadsheet-gaming-change-orders"},"categories":[],"segments":[],"mercados":[],"etapas":[],"class_list":["post-74302","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/74302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/74302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74308,"href":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/74302\/revisions\/74308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74302"},{"taxonomy":"segments","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/segments?post=74302"},{"taxonomy":"mercados","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mercados?post=74302"},{"taxonomy":"etapas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/etapas?post=74302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}