COBie provides a standard structure and process for delivering information used to manage and maintain facility assets. IDS expresses requirements that can be checked against information in an IFC model. They can support different parts of the same handover workflow. NIBS COBie guidance, IDS user manual
Compare their roles
| Question | IDS | COBie |
|---|---|---|
| What is its role here? | Specify checkable expectations for IFC information | Organise the asset information to be handed over |
| What would a team use it for? | Test agreed information rules on a model delivery | Prepare the agreed facility and asset information deliverable |
| Who needs to be involved? | People defining, producing and reviewing the model information | The owner and project participants responsible for handover data |
| What must the project decide? | Scope, information fields, value rules and software support | Required deliverable, fields, responsibilities and milestones |
COBie can be delivered in supported digital formats, including spreadsheet and other representations. Agree the required version and format at the start of the workflow. NIBS guidance on COBie structure and delivery
We already ask for COBie. Where could IDS help?
Consider the steps that produce your handover information. If some required data originates in an IFC model, an IDS-based check may help you identify missing or inconsistent model information before that data moves into the handover deliverable.
This is a workflow application, rather than a promise of automatic mapping between the two standards. The team must agree how each relevant model field contributes to the deliverable, and confirm that the chosen requirement can be represented and checked with IDS.
For a pilot, select a small group of maintainable assets and identify the information expected from the model. Record where it should be found, how it will be checked and what still needs review in the final handover package.
Does an IDS pass establish a complete COBie delivery?
Treat the IDS result as evidence about the rules that were applied to the IFC model. Continue to review the final COBie deliverable against its own agreed structure, required content and project acceptance process.
For example, a project might request information supplied separately by a contractor or manufacturer. That part of the handover needs its own collection and review process, even if the model checks have already been completed.
Decide whether the additional step is useful
Map one real handover workflow. Identify a recurring information problem, its source and the stage at which it is currently discovered. Trial an earlier model check only where it addresses that problem.
If the existing process already catches the issue reliably, focus on a different gap. The value of an IDS workflow should be visible in the team's actual delivery work.
Explore BIM information management with IDS Compass, read the validation guide, or see the IDS editor.