COBIE

COBie public procurement / BIM standard detailed.

Definition

COBie (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange) is the spreadsheet-based open standard developed by US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE Bill East 2008+) + adopted by buildingSMART International standardising the delivery of facilities asset data (equipment + spaces + systems + components + spares + warranties + manuals) from construction phase to facilities management operations phase, Excel + IFC + STEP format options, foundational for BIM-FM (BIM to Facilities Management) handover integration. Multi-stakeholder standardisation + governance process publication open standards documentation + implementation guides + reference implementations + community contributions + maintenance iterative versions updates + interoperability conformance testing + alignment regulations EU + national level + adoption tracking measurement adoption + impact assessment outcomes.

Origin

COBie developed by USACE Bill East ~2008 ; adopted buildingSMART International ; mandated UK BIM Level 2 + multiple government projects + facilities operations modernisation.

Example in context

Hospital construction project hands over to facilities management operations team: architect + contractor compile COBie spreadsheet listing all installed equipment (HVAC units + electrical panels + medical equipment + fire safety systems + elevators) with manufacturer + model + serial + warranty + maintenance schedule + spare parts data ; FM team imports COBie into Computerised Maintenance Management System CMMS for ongoing facility lifecycle management.

Related terms

• buildingSMART OpenBIM — parent ecosystem.