COBie & Asset Information Management

COBie (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange) is a standardized data format for capturing and handing over non-graphical asset information — equipment lists, spatial data, warranties, maintenance schedules, and product data — from design and construction teams to building owners and facilities managers.

It gives owners structured, reliable asset data at handover instead of buried PDFs and disconnected spreadsheets. This data feeds directly into CAFM/CMMS systems, supporting maintenance planning, asset tracking, and lifecycle management from day one of occupancy.

• Facility, floor, and space data
• Equipment/asset types and components
• Manufacturer, model, and serial numbers
• Warranty start/end dates
• Spare parts and maintenance schedules
• Documents (O&M manuals, certificates)
• Contact and system data

Ideally, COBie data is populated progressively throughout the design and construction phases directly within the BIM model (parameters in Revit, for example), then validated and exported at handover — rather than compiled manually at the end, which is slower and more error-prone.

COBie is most commonly delivered as a spreadsheet (.xlsx) following the standard COBie schema, though it can also be validated and exchanged via IFC.

Through validation tools (like the COBie Toolkit, Solibri, or bimCHECK) that check for missing fields, duplicate records, inconsistent naming, and adherence to the Employer’s Information Requirements (EIR) or project BIM Execution Plan (BEP).

This depends on the scope agreed — some engagements involve full population of asset data from design documents and specifications, others focus on validating and cleaning up data already in the model, and some just handle the final export and QA.

COBie is a specific data exchange standard/format. Asset Information Management is the broader process — covering how asset data is planned, structured, collected, validated, and maintained throughout a project, of which COBie is often just the final deliverable format.

Typically ISO 19650 (Part 3 for asset management), the UK BIM Framework, and the project’s own EIR, which defines exactly what asset data the client needs and in what format.

As early as possible — ideally at the EIR/BEP stage — so that naming conventions, classification systems (like Uniclass or OmniClass), and data requirements are defined before modeling begins, rather than retrofitted at handover.

Both. Renovation and retrofit projects often require reconciling new asset data with existing (sometimes incomplete) legacy records, which is a common and valuable use case for COBie/asset data services.