Construction-Operations Building Information Exchange (COBIE) is a standard way to manage information from a BIM model that is essential to support the operations, maintenance, and management of the facilities by the owner and/or property manager. The COBIE approach is to enter the data as it is created during design, construction, and commissioning. Designers provide floor, space, and equipment layouts. Contractors provide make, model, and serial numbers of installed equipment.

The Onuma Planning System (OPS) supports COBIE input and output by allowing stakeholders to view and analyze data directly on the web and through web services. OPS manage COBIE data on the fly, allowing for real time collaboration on projects. OPS are also linked through open standards exchanges to Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Geographic Information Systems allowing for data to be geospatially located within a building.

COBIE on the whole Building Design Guide or do a Google search for COBIE BIM or COBIE ESRI. COBIE covers product information such as warranty, safety data, O&M manual, startup instructions, and parts lists and tool lists, and is organized in a manner compatible with design and construction processes as well as commissioning.

The Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBIE) project is another example of the growing emphasis on capturing and transmitting digital building information so it can be reused during building operations. The goal of the NASA-funded project is to improve the quality of the information provided to operations and maintenance by creating standardized content and formats for the building handover as part of the U.S. National BIM Standard.

In keeping with the philosophy of BIM, COBIE enables facility information that is created throughout the planning, design and construction processes to be digitally captured and passed on to the next link in the building chain so to speak - and ultimately delivered to the owner -versus the standard practice of the project contractor assembling documents for electronic handover at project closeout.

The Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBIE) project, with funding from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), is creating standardized content and format for information handover to operations and maintenance as part of the U.S. National BIM Standard (NBIMS). The COBIE approach envisions capturing this information incrementally throughout the facility planning, design and construction processes.

By capturing the information in the correct format at the source, the COBIE project aims to eliminate this cost.