Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) is a United States-originated specification relating to managed asset information including space and equipment. It is closely associated with building information modeling (BIM) approaches to design, construction, and management of built assets.

COBie helps organisations to electronically capture and record important project data at the point of origin, including equipment lists, product data sheets, warranties, spare parts lists, and preventive maintenance schedules. This information is essential to support operations, maintenance and asset management once the built asset is in service, replacing reliance on uncoordinated, often paper-based, handover information typically created by people who did not participate in the project and delivered many months after the client has taken occupancy of the building (see figure 1).

COBie has been incorporated into software for planning, design, construction, commissioning, operations, maintenance, and asset management. COBie may take several approved formats include spreadsheet, STEP-Part 21 (also called IFC file format), and ifcXML. The current COBie test data of record was developed by an international team of designers and builders in the US and UK. This information is available under Creative Commons Licence.

COBie was developed by Bill East, of the US Army Corps of Engineers, while at the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory in 2007. The project was funded with an initial grant from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (through National Institute of Standards and Technology). Following this introduction, East has led COBie development through buildingSMART International (BSI; formerly the International Alliance for Interoperability) processes.

From 2008 to 2015, the Construction Engineering Research Lab conducted a series of public events to demonstrate the ability of commercial software to produce and/or consume COBie data (in associated date-related version). In these events, software companies were often arranged at the front of a large conference room in order: planning, design, construction, maintenance management, and asset management. The COBie data flow (COBie is about building equipment only) was demonstrated. Over 90% of those participating delivered information in the COBie spreadsheet format. The other software exported spreadsheet format data from Coordination MVD STEP files so that others could use this data.

In 2009, COBie version 2.26 was published as the buildingSMART International Basic FM Handover Model View Model Definition using the Industry Foundation Class Model 2x3.

In December 2011, COBie 2.26 was approved and included by the US Chapter of buildingSMART International as part of its National Building Information Model (NBIMS-US) standard, version 2. Around this same time, the US buildingSMART alliance was de-listed as an authorized chapter of the buildingSMART International.

In early 2013, buildingSMART was working on a lightweight XML format for COBie, COBieLite, which became available for review in April 2013.