COBie Certified Professional™

POLICY AND PROCESS

Version 1.1
February 2020

Author: Dr. Bill East,

COBie Certified Professional Subcommittee
https://cobie.buildingsmart.org
[email protected]
Contents
1. Purpose of this document: ............................................................................................... 1
2. Background ..................................................................................................................... 1
3. About COBie Foundation ................................................................................................. 2
4. About COBie Certified Professional ................................................................................. 2
5. COBie Certified Professional Examination ....................................................................... 3
6. COBie Certified Professional Costs ................................................................................. 5

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Policy and Process, Version 1.1
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1. Purpose of this document:
This document is a policy and processes guideline for the buildingSMART International COBie
Certified Professional™ scheme. buildingSMART may periodically revise this document as
required. The current version is to be found at the COBie Certified Professional website
resources page: https://cobie.buildingsmart.org/resources/.

2. Background
The Construction Operations Building information exchange (COBie) format is one of the most
widely implemented Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) based standards. Initially published in
2007, COBie is now part of the National BIM Standard - United States® and is mandated by
British Standards. Beyond the US and UK, COBie requirements are found in contracts in many
countries.

COBie Certified Professional™ is an international scheme developed and offered by

buildingSMART International under the Professional Certification program to support COBie
training and assessment.

buildingSMART Professional Certification was initiated in 2016, with the goal to provide a global
benchmark for openBIM training and competency assurance. As of January 2020, the program is
being adopted in 24 countries.

Professional Certification is structured as a two-tier system, whereby “Foundation” resonds to

knowledge-based learning, and “Practitioner” addresse practical expertise, or applied learning.

COBie is addressed in both tiers of buildingSMART Professional Certification.

In tier 1 (Professional Certification – Foundation), there is the COBie Foundation module

In tier 2 (Professional Certification – Practitioner), there is COBie Certified Professional™

Figure 1: buildingSMART Professional Certification two-tier structure with indicative modules

Further general information about the buildingSMART Professional Certification program can be
found at: https://education.buildingsmart.org/

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3. About COBie Foundation

3.1. General
The COBie Foundation module is still in development. The following section provides some
insight, and more general Information about Professional Certification - Foundation, can be
found at: https://education.buildingsmart.org.

3.2. Qualification
An individual who is Qualified to the level of COBie Foundation has demonstrated general
knowledge of the organization and application of the COBie standard sufficient to draft and
manage standards based COBie contract requirements.

3.3. Qualification Process

In order to receive a COBie Foundation certificate a candidate must attend a buildingSMART
approved training and pass the 30 minute online multiple choice COBIe Foundation examination.

3.4. Release Date

The COBie Foundation module exam is expected to be available for the public in late-2020. As
work on this program proceeds, the COBie website will be updated (https://cobie.buildingsmart.org).

4. About COBie Certified Professional

4.1. Qualification
A COBie Certified Professional™ has demonstrated their knowledge in the technical details of
the COBie standard and in their ability to interpret that standard based-on real-world application.

4.2. Qualification Process

A candidate must register with bSI and successfully complete an on-line examination. Whilst
formal training is not not a prerequisite for the examination, it is recommended.

4.3. Eligability
COBie Certified Professional is an open to any individual around the world. The individual need
not be a buildingSMART members, nor must they have attended an authorised COBie training.
The designation COBie Certified Professional™ is a personal designation only. Although
organisations may not claim they are COBie Certified Professionals, they may wish to identify
that they employ such professionals. They may do so only by listing these employees’ names,
certification number, and certification dates.

4.4. Release Date

The COBie Professional Certification™ exam is expected to be available for the public in mid-
2020. As work on this program proceeds, the COBie website will be updated.

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5. COBie Certified Professional Examination
5.1. Examination Format
The COBie Certified Professional™ examination is an uninterrupted two-hour exam. Question
formats include the following: multiple choice (pick one), multiple choice (pick multiple), short
answer, and true/false. Some questions require the candidate to extract or evaluate COBie-
relevant information from typical design and construction sources.

5.2. Examination Process

Passing the COBie Certified Professional™ Examination demonstrates a mastery of the COBie
standard and its generic application to typical building design and construction practice. The
candidate will receive a grade of Pass or Fail. bSI employs a proprietary method to normalize
the raw scores achieved on each exam to ensure that difficulty level is taken into account when
identifying the line between passing and failing.

5.3. Score Notification

Candidates will be notified of their grade by electronic mail from bSI within forty-five (45) days of
the examination date.

5.4. Testing Location

The COBie Certified Professional™ Examination is an on-line exam. It may be taken anywhere
at any time. Candidates will be required to verify their identity and agree to video monitoring as
part of the exam.

5.5. Testing Platform

The testing platform is developed on Moodle and can be access via a web browser on a desktop
or laptop computer. Candidates must have camera and microphone attached to the computer,
which must be active during the exam. Use of all other electronic devices at any time during the
exam is prohibited.

5.6. Certificate
Upon successful completion of the exam, each candidate will be able to download their
certificate from the exam web site.

5.7. Online Registry

Candidates who has passed the examination are allowed to have their name, certification
number, certification date, and certification status published on the registry page of the COBie
Certified Professional website. This will only be done once the candidate has been informed of
their grade. This registry allows others to verify that a student has indeed obtained the COBie
certification.

5.8. Certification Status

Once a candidate has passed the examination the status of their certification on the online
registry will be identified as “Active”. Should a candidate not renew according to the policy
below, their status will be changed to “Inactive.” Should the candidate’s certificate be revoked
according to the policy below, their status will be changed to “Revoked”.

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5.9. Re-test
If a candidate fails their first test, they may register to take one retest within 45 days of the date
on the exam notification email. Note that retest fees apply. The examination status will not be
made public if you do not pass.

5.10. Recertification
Recertification is required every five (5) years or when the standard is substantially modified. If
portions of the standards are modified, specific tests may be prepared for individuals that are
already certified. Certification holders will be notified if re-testing is required and would have six
(6) months to take the modified sections tests. If re-testing does not take place within the six (6)
month period, then the certification holder would have to retake the test in its entirety.

Should you fail to recertify, buildingSMART International will indicate by changing your
certification status to “Inactive”. This indicates that in the past you held a certification.

5.11. Preparation
The COBie Certified Professional™ examination is a rigorous two-hour exam. Only those who
have studied the COBie standard in detail and have delivered COBie data during both design
and construction phases of a building project will successfully pass this exam. For those who
wish to complete formal courses that will prepare you to take the exam, bSI will publish a study
guide and list of qualified training resources following the release of the examination.

5.12. COBie standard

The primary source for the COBie Certified Professional™ Examination is the COBie standard
itself. The current version of the COBie standard (COBie 2.4) may be downloaded directly
from https://www.nationalbimstandard.org/. Within the set of files downloaded, the two files you
will need are Chapter 4.2 and the associated Annex A.

5.13. Examination resources

Only those electronic materials explicitly identified at the start of each exam may be used during
the the COBie Certified Professional™ Exam or the COBie Foundation module examination. You
may not get help from anyone else; all work must be your own. Before taking the exam, you
must agree to these restrictions and consent to remote monitoring.

Should there be any question regarding the use of external resources at any time following your
exam. buildingSMART International reserves the right to remove you from the list of certified or
qualified individuals. All decisions in this regard by buildingSMART International are final and my
not be appealed.

5.14. Revoke of certification

bSI reserves the right to revoke your certification. After successfully passing the exam, should
buildingSMART International become aware of the use of outside assistance during the exam,
you will be notified that your certification is to be changed to “Revoked”. A notification will be
given and after a thirty (30) period buildingSMART International will decide the matter. Should a
decision to “Revoke” be made, the candidate’s website certification status will be changed to
“Revoked”. This decision may not be appealed.

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6. COBie Certified Professional Costs

6.1. Exam Costs

The cost for the COBie Certified Professional exam are:
• 500 Euro Initial Exam, buildingSMART Member Fee
• 750 Euro Initial Exam, non-buildingSMART Member Fee
• 125 Euro Initial Exam, Retest Fee
• 250 Euro Requalification Exam Fee

6.2. Discounts
buildingSMART offers discounts to approved candidates meeting one of two criteria:

a) employees of national, state, or municipal government agency, educational

institution, or not-for-profit organization, or

b) groups of candidates of three or more persons from one company or organization.

The discount amount is 10% off the initial exam fee. There are no discounts on other fees. No
more than one discount can be applied.

6.3. Discount application

To apply for a discount or get further information, contact [email protected]. Once
approved as a discounted group, each candidate must individually apply to sit for the exam and
identify themselves with the discount code provided.

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