Project pathway
The quickest route to the right decision.
Ordnance surveying for parks and green spaces
New tree positions, lowered swales, paths and utilities affect different volumes of ground. FONTANA-EOD clarifies with landscape planners and site management which existing ordnance documents are usable and where surveying is needed before earthworks.
Distinguish planting positions from area-wide work.
Compare existing and proposed elevations.
Coordinate use and survey areas.
Context
Showing the position and depth of planned work
For work in parks and green spaces, planting excavations, paths, utilities and terrain excavation are distinguished by position and depth. Existing ordnance documents are compared with these interventions and actual access conditions. FONTANA-EOD clarifies with landscape planners and site management which survey is technically suitable for each individual task.
Investigation task
Check existing findings against new interventions
Define the planned work in the ground
Maintenance without ground intervention requires a different assessment from a new planting excavation, path sub-base or lowering of an area. Show on the plan which work takes place only at the surface and where ground is removed, drilled into or reshaped.
Selecting survey services according to the groundworks
Apply existing conclusions to the appropriate areas
Earlier fill, backfilled structures or altered paths may be barely visible in today's terrain. Existing historical plans and the Historical aerial photograph analysis may indicate earlier uses. These findings help define the need for and scope of technical surveys. Old park plans may show former paths, structures, utilities or terrain changes. An old plan alone does not establish freedom from explosive ordnance.
Assessing historical uses of the green spaceProject types
Planting locations, paths and new terrain profiles
New tree positions and planting areas
Planning for new trees describes not only the planting position but also excavation geometry, possible root barriers and underground facilities. Adjoining irrigation lines or anchors may extend the area of ground intervention. For ordnance checks, this work is stated together without deriving a general survey of the entire park from it. Existing findings are compared by position and area. If a tree position is moved because of utilities or existing trees, its new location must be reported before earthworks.
Coordinating planting excavations and new positions
Path reconstruction with technical installations
A new path alignment may affect previously untreated margins. Lighting, edging and drainage have their own foundations or trenches. The survey plan therefore does not follow the finished path surface alone. It also describes excavation, sub-base and additional working spaces. Old park plans may help identify former structures or paths; their existence alone is not an ordnance survey result. Available documents are therefore considered together with current execution.
Assessing paths and associated civil engineering workSwales and changed terrain elevations
For a swale or terrain remodelling, existing and proposed elevations are shown using the same reference. Local low points and connections may differ from an average excavation depth. Construction work areas are also considered insofar as ground is affected there. The survey must identify the terrain profile on which it is based. Later fill or a new surface design does not retrospectively change the coverage of an earlier result.
Coordinating methods for terrain excavation and low pointsPrepare the decision
Prepare the next work step technically
Maintenance or new earthworks
The first description establishes whether an activity concerns only the surface or removes, drills into or reshapes ground. This distinction avoids treating very different work alike. For preparation, individual tasks from the landscape design are transferred into a clear overview of ground interventions. These may include planting excavations, foundations, utility trenches, path construction or a changed terrain profile. The design assigns each intended task its area or position and necessary depth reference. Known survey results can then be related specifically to these tasks. Maintenance work is also described according to the activity actually performed. A later extension of the scope receives a new technical assessment insofar as it changes the area previously considered or interventions described. Coordination thus follows the specific groundworks and remains understandable for several spatially separate tasks.
Access restricted by vegetation
Vegetation, root zones and protection requirements are recorded before method selection. Preparatory work is agreed with the ordnance specialist contractor and responsible project parties. Necessary surveys and protective measures precede ground interventions during vegetation clearance, root removal, surface removal or creation of work areas and access routes. Areas accessible later are surveyed before subsequent interventions. For operational preparation, existing paths, accessible sections and vegetation areas to retain are linked on the plan. Those responsible for the project explain protection requirements and conditions of use at each work location. The specialist contractor compares this information with the intended survey task and identifies prerequisites still outstanding. For an initially inaccessible area, further work remains visible as a separate task. If access or a prepared work area changes, the survey programme also relates to the changed conditions. Preparatory work is clearly assigned to the affected interventions and responsibilities. Landscape planners, site management and the specialist contractor can thus coordinate their tasks before scheduling changed execution.
A planting position is relocated
The changed position is compared with existing survey boundaries. A result at a neighbouring position does not automatically apply to the new location or a changed excavation depth. For a relocated planting position, old and new locations are shown distinctly on the plan. The necessary excavation size and intended depth are also assigned to the changed position. The specialist contractor can then check which existing findings are usable for the new task and where additional clarification is needed. The same applies to a relocated foundation or rerouted irrigation connection. The groundworks actually intended remain decisive. The change plan is passed on with its date and an unambiguous reference to the previous design. Following an additional survey, its result and the original report are clearly connected. Site management can thus trace the specific task covered by the current findings.
Project-specific tasks
Recording planting excavations, paths and terrain changes
01
New tree and planting positions
Planting excavations, root barriers, underground anchors or irrigation facilities may involve localised ground interventions. Specify position and proposed depth. The visible planting position alone does not describe the working space required in the ground.
02
Paths, squares and equipment
New path alignments, edging, lighting or furniture may lie outside earlier construction lines. Describe the construction layers and installation foundations. An existing path area is not evidence for the entire area of a future widening.
03
Swales and terrain modelling
For terrain excavation or new drainage forms, compare present and proposed elevations. Transitions and deeper connections also matter. An average excavation depth may obscure local deepening and should not replace the specific profile plan.
04
Vegetation and public paths
Vegetation, root zones, slopes and paths remaining in use affect access and vehicle movement. Specialist planners, green space managers and the survey contractor clarify suitable working conditions. Ordnance checks do not override protection requirements for existing features and users.
Project documents
These documents connect the instruction and result
Landscape plan showing ground interventions
A landscape design is supplemented by excavations, utilities, foundations and excavation areas. The survey relates to these groundworks. Vegetation and path planning remain visible as important constraints but do not replace depth information. For terrain changes, suitable cross-sections supplement the landscape plan. They show the existing surface and proposed elevation underlying the task. Paths, planting areas and technical installations are assigned to the respective ground interventions. Separate work locations across the overall area are also identified. Where alternatives remain under consideration, the decision status stays clear on the plan. After an alternative is selected, the specialist contractor can relate the necessary survey scope to the current design. The appendices used are retained with the report. A later design change can thus be related to actual survey results and their spatial boundaries.
Existing conditions and accessibility
Known installations, former paths and inaccessible areas are explained on the plan or through locatable photographs. This information supports preparation. A photograph alone establishes neither an underground structure nor an ordnance finding. Observations from site records and maintenance are passed on with their respective spatial references. For an old path or known fill, the document or observation supporting the information is identified. Unclear extents remain described as such. The specialist contractor can compare this information with other findings and the planned work. Existing photographs are clearly assigned to the site plan or a named work location. If existing conditions change later, it remains clear which condition the photograph showed. Useful indications can thus be distinguished from outstanding questions during survey preparation, without deriving further findings from visible conditions.
Evidence for maintenance
Results receive an unambiguous reference to positions, areas and the plan version. The responsible body can thus identify what was already covered when later work arises. Surveyed sections are not combined into a blanket conclusion about the entire park. The body responsible for maintenance and later remodelling receives reports with their associated plan appendices. An overview links individual planting positions, path sections and technical installations with areas actually surveyed. For new work later, the first check establishes which ground intervention the earlier survey addressed. New depths or relocated positions are submitted to the specialist contractor for assessment. Areas still outstanding remain visible in the documents as well. Following additional work, the earlier question it answered is recorded. The collection thus remains usable as a specific starting point while preserving the technical limitations of each result.
Construction phases
Keep construction phases and changes traceable
Surveying for planting work
For limited planting work, individual positions are described with the intended excavations and ancillary work. A check can then establish whether a point-specific survey covers the entire task. If utilities, anchors or larger working spaces also need consideration, they belong in the same coordination. Documentation subsequently records the locations actually treated. For later replacement planting, the new task is compared with this information rather than assigned solely by the tree identifier.
Path construction while the park remains in use
Public paths and surveyable areas may change several times during construction. Planners and the operator identify the connections to retain. Specialist surveying is coordinated with these requirements and actual accessibility. For the result, however, the surveyed ground area is decisive, rather than an organisational barrier boundary alone. If storage, access routes or excavation areas move, a check establishes whether additional ground interventions arise or agreed survey conditions change.
Documents for subsequent green space maintenance
After reconstruction, the maintenance body should receive plans and reports together. Individual surveyed planting positions remain distinguishable from area-wide surveys. Inaccessible areas and other limitations are also retained. This helps with later utility repairs, relocated benches or new tree pits. Long-standing use as a green space does not replace comparison of a new ground intervention. Rather, existing findings allow later questions to be posed specifically with a clear spatial reference.
Documentation
Making results usable for later work in the park
Assign the results to the project
Green spaces continue to change after major construction. New utilities, relocated benches or replacement trees may require additional ground interventions. An informative as-built plan therefore records surveyed positions and areas rather than merely naming the park as a whole. Following actual exposure or clearance work, the associated findings and clearance records are included.
Coordinate tasks and further works
The respective project managers remain responsible for visitor routing and construction boundaries. A technical survey is not a general assurance of hazard-free use. Suspicious objects require an immediate stop to work; the competent authorities determine further measures.
Next steps
Preparing surveying before earthworks
Creating a ground intervention plan
Compile planting locations, paths, utilities, foundations and terrain profiles with the intended depths.
Adding historical plans and survey reports
Spatially assign former uses, fill, installations and existing surveys. Where historical questions remain open, suitable sources are researched and aerial photographs of the affected areas assessed. Results are related to the present planting, path and other areas of ground intervention and support definition of the survey.
Coordinating working conditions
Clarify access, vegetation, public use and necessary preparatory work with the project managers. The suitable survey method is defined for the respective ground interventions and site conditions.
Carry out the investigation
The commissioned survey is carried out within the defined area. Measurement data, findings and limitations are recorded with location, depth and plan references.
Assess results
Measurement data and findings are assessed by specialists. Outstanding areas, necessary follow-up surveys and the next decision are identified for designers and site management.
Keep reports for later works
Record surveyed areas and their boundaries on the as-built plan and retain them with the reports.
Technical assessment
Green spaces are not automatically unobstructed survey areas
Vegetation and surface conditions
An open lawn offers different access from dense woodland or a steeply sloping area. The appropriate approach depends on the area actually accessible. Necessary preparatory measures must be technically agreed before execution.
Fill and metal installations
Fences, old utilities, construction rubble or concealed components may make interpretation of a Surface survey more difficult. Information on existing conditions helps interpretation. A method is therefore selected according to the survey task and site rather than solely the description green space.
Distinguishing surveys for planting locations and areas
Surveying individual planting locations answers a different question from surveying area-wide terrain excavation. Documentation must show this distinction. Findings are not extended without checking to neighbouring trees, paths or later plan changes.
Method selection
Select methods according to the task and survey conditions
Historical records and aerial photographs
Historical aerial photograph assessment and other old records help place the basis for suspicion in its spatial context. The available images, their evidential value and the limits of the area considered matter. The absence of an identifiable indication must be distinguished from a technically surveyed ground area. The assessment is considered together with the planned intervention and other available findings. It can support the choice of a survey, but is not a measurement of the present-day subsurface or confirmation for all future works.
Understand aerial photograph assessmentMagnetometric survey
Magnetometric methods detect magnetic anomalies. Whether they can address the specific survey task depends, among other things, on the expected objects, ground conditions, interference and required survey area. Fences, utilities or existing structures may affect interpretation. A measurement signal is therefore not described as ordnance solely because of its strength. Method, interpretation and any further investigation are planned as a connected specialist task.
Understand the scope of magnetometryElectromagnetic methods and TDEM
Electromagnetic surveys may be suitable for particular metallic targets and site conditions. TDEM detects the time-dependent electromagnetic responses of electrically conductive bodies. Suitability is justified for the particular task, not inferred merely from the availability of equipment. Interfering installations, accessible areas and the required conclusion must also be considered. Results are documented with location and survey conditions. Whether a complementary method is needed follows from the specialist assessment and remains a specific project decision.
Understand electromagnetic surveyingGround-penetrating radar
Under suitable conditions, ground-penetrating radar can provide information about subsurface structures and reflections. Ground conditions, moisture, installations and the particular survey task affect interpretability. An anomaly is not automatically ordnance, and an area with no apparent anomalies is not general evidence for arbitrary depths. The specialist interpretation and its limits are documented with the instruction. A survey for another purpose is not adopted without checking as ordnance evidence.
GPR and limitationsDeep-ground and downhole surveys
For deeper interventions, it may be necessary to check whether a surface survey can provide the required conclusion or whether another approach is needed. Location, depth, borehole layout and existing utilities then form part of preparation. Access for the survey must also be planned appropriately from a technical perspective. A general depth figure or standard grid does not replace this task. Results remain tied to the areas actually treated and the method applied. For surveys from investigation boreholes, casing, drilling depth and documentation are also coordinated with the task and local conditions.
Prepare deep interventionsSurvey during construction
If a necessary preliminary survey cannot be completed in full, the suitability of a technically planned approach during construction is assessed. Each working layer is technically surveyed and evaluated before controlled removal in layers with supplementary visual inspection follows. The steps are repeated to the agreed excavation formation. Excavation layers, stop signal, authority to give instructions, reporting channels and documentation are agreed with site management and specialists before work starts. Pure visual observation of the excavation cannot simply replace a necessary instrumental survey. Site management needs a clear description of when specialist works take place, how new findings are handled and which areas remain outstanding.
Agree the approach during constructionWorking approach
How FONTANA-EOD works
Document the agreed specialist service clearly
FONTANA-EOD relates the survey to a described intervention and a traceable set of records. Before work starts, the technical task, accessible areas and required results are agreed. If the design or local conditions change, it is checked whether the agreed scope still fits. The report records the work actually performed and its limits. Further construction planning can thus identify what conclusion is available and where additional clarification remains necessary.
Discuss the investigation taskThe task before the equipment
A survey begins with the required information objective. The method selected is technically justified in relation to it. A particular instrument or a similar neighbouring construction site is not, by itself, sufficient grounds for selecting a method.
Keep limitations visible
Inaccessible areas and limited conclusions are identified. They do not disappear into a total area figure. Designers and site management can then decide specifically which areas still need attention and when a suitable survey becomes possible.
Clarify changes before intervening in the ground
A new location, additional depth or different construction method is compared with previous results. A familiar project name does not replace this comparison. Feedback is provided before the affected work so that an outstanding question can be included in the sequence.
Hand over the report and plan together
The technical conclusion remains connected to its location references and appendices. A brief summary helps orientation but does not replace the documented survey scope. This basis is retained even if site management or contractors change.
Working together
Distinguish the tasks of client, designers and specialist contractor
Client and operator
The client describes the project and provides the available project records. The operator adds requirements for use, access and timing. A coordinating contact brings the parties together; individual tasks remain assigned to the named parties. Before commissioning, it is clearly recorded what information is missing, who will obtain it and what decision the result is intended to prepare.
Planning and construction management
The specialist designers describe areas, depths, construction methods and changes. Site management coordinates the planned sequence with the construction contractors and agreed specialist works. Results are assigned to the respective intervention. A technical plan change is communicated early enough for its effect on the survey task to be assessed before construction. Organisational construction stage boundaries remain distinguishable from technical survey boundaries.
Specialist company and competent bodies
The private ordnance specialist contractor carries out the agreed survey and documentation scope. Authority requirements and decisions are clarified with the respective competent bodies. The records needed for a particular procedure depend on the site and project. The technical report documents the specialist service performed, including its area, depth and service scope and the limits of its conclusions. Applicability to further groundworks is checked against the specific intervention. Administrative decisions are made by the competent authorities.
In Germany, the Länder ordnance disposal services and locally competent authorities perform hazard prevention and find-handling tasks. Their involvement and the tasks of the public order authority and, where applicable, building control are clarified for the project location. Outside Germany, local responsibilities apply. Contacts, conditions and reporting channels are assigned to the construction project concerned.
Requirements
Clarify technical requirements and responsibilities within the project
In Germany, § 7 SprengG concerns the commercial authorisation for activities requiring authorisation; § 20 SprengG concerns the certificate of competence of responsible persons. Under § 1b SprengG, searching for found munitions also counts as handling them. The requirements applicable to the project depend on the activity actually commissioned and the allocation of responsibilities.
The First Ordinance to the German Explosives Act (1. SprengV) includes requirements for specialist knowledge and state-recognised courses. For green spaces, planting excavations and terrain changes, relevant activities and responsible persons are identified to match the intended ground intervention.
DGUV Information 201-027 concerns protective measures during ordnance clearance work. DGUV Rule 113-003 concerns the dismantling or destruction of explosives or corresponding objects and also includes the disposal of found munitions. It applies according to this field of activity; it does not replace a risk assessment specific to the planned ground intervention.
Relate requirements to the specialist task
For the commissioned activities, the relevant technical requirements and questions of permits, competence certification and responsibility are clarified. The actual planned service scope is decisive. A general company designation does not replace checking that the tasks and interfaces are described appropriately for the specific project.
Link occupational safety to the construction sequence
Risk assessment, work areas and communication must suit the proposed activities. Ordnance specialist works are coordinated with the other construction activities. Operational organisation, traffic safety and other specialist technical inspections retain their own responsible parties. Joint coordination brings the information together without equating the different tasks.
Use technical findings correctly
A measurement anomaly first requires specialist assessment; its depiction alone does not identify it as ordnance. If an object is suspicious, work in the affected area is stopped; the competent authorities determine further measures. Survey reports identify the scope treated and its limits so that results are not extended to unchecked areas or later plan changes. Necessary follow-up surveys or exposure works are assigned to the area concerned. Recovery of confirmed ordnance is coordinated with the permitted activities, local responsibilities and documentation.
Planning and documentation: BFR KMR: clearance planning, principles · BFR KMR: geophysics · BFR KMR: documentation
The federal construction guidelines on ordnance clearance contain requirements for historical and technical investigation, clearance concepts, procurement and documentation within their defined area of federal responsibility. Their application to the specific green space project, together with local requirements and responsibilities, is clarified separately.
Project site
Connect the site with the specific construction task
Site and existing requirements
Provide the actual site with a plan and affected properties. Existing information, requirements and reports are assigned to this area. Regional requirements must be established for the specific project; showing a service area does not promise a particular official service or an investigation already completed. The regional overview provides orientation, while the plan and documents determine the technical task.
Understand the results
Use technical statements for the next decision
Read results together with their scope
A statement is understandable only with its investigation task. Check the area and depth described, methods used and restrictions. A report title or single result line is insufficient. For new work, these details are compared with the current plan to establish which knowledge remains usable and which question is unresolved.
Explore results and terminologyUse project terminology unambiguously
Document review, surveying, construction-phase specialist work and recovery are different tasks. An enquiry need not identify the correct method in advance. An accurate description of the intervention and required decision is more useful. This establishes the appropriate technical scope and prevents a general term from meaning different things in design, procurement and execution.
Understand the service scopeDocuments and execution
Consider records and surveying together
Assign records to their locations
For preparation, the location plan and available findings are considered together. Assessment of historical records addresses a different task from a technical survey of the present-day subsurface.
Explore the historical basis
Use results for construction planning
Survey scope, plan references and limitations are documented together. Site management can identify the specific conclusion available for the next intervention.
Understand documentation
Further technical topics
Find the appropriate specialist service and project arrangements
Compare municipal project types
Other municipal projects may include additional interventions and interfaces. The overview helps classify them without anticipating the survey of a specific site.
Understand municipal projectsSelect the specialist service according to the task
Document assessment, instrumental surveying, supervision during works and recovery are distinguished by their respective purposes. A technically justified selection connects the information sought with the actual conditions.
Compare servicesQuestions from planning
Frequently asked questions about work in green spaces
Does all green space maintenance require ordnance surveying?
Not every maintenance task requires surveying. Survey needs follow the suspected hazard and actual ground intervention. Surface maintenance is distinguished from planting excavations, vegetation removal involving ground intervention, utility construction or terrain changes.
Can surveying be limited to the new tree positions?
This may be an appropriate task definition if it matches the suspected hazard and the overall works. Additional irrigation lines, anchors and working spaces must also be described. The conclusions remain limited to the documented scope.
Must vegetation be removed before surveying?
This depends on the site and intended method. Necessary preparatory work is agreed with the ordnance specialist contractor and responsible project parties. If it involves ground interventions, their survey needs are clarified before work starts.
What should be done if a suspicious object is found during earthworks?
If an unexpected suspicious object is found, stop work in the affected area immediately. Do not touch, move or uncover it further. Leave the immediate area, keep your distance and keep others away without putting yourself at risk. In Germany, call the police immediately on 110; outside Germany, use the local emergency procedure. The competent authorities determine the next steps. Inform site management and the client; internal notification must not delay the emergency call.
How are later additions to the facility considered?
Compare new planting positions, utilities or foundations with the documented survey areas. If work extends beyond them, a check establishes whether additional surveys are necessary. Reports and plan appendices should therefore remain available to the body responsible for maintenance.
Can a new utility be routed through tree positions already surveyed?
The proposed utility is compared with the documented survey scope. Individual surveyed positions do not automatically cover a trench connecting them. Depth, working space and intervening areas therefore form part of the additional task clarification before the utility is installed.
What determines the survey workload and costs?
Key factors are the position, area, depth and geometry of planting excavations, paths, utilities and terrain changes, ground composition, metallic interference, vegetation and access. Tree and nature protection requirements, public use, construction phases, existing findings, suitable survey methods and documentation scope also matter. Costing relates to the commissioned survey volume and the services actually required.
How are nature and tree protection matters considered?
Those responsible for the project identify existing protection requirements and permitted access. Survey planning is coordinated accordingly. A check then establishes which area is accessible using which method and which questions may remain open. Specialist surveying does not replace a decision about interventions affecting protected trees or habitats.
Project enquiry
Send the landscape plan with depths of ground intervention
Plan revision and decision deadline
Specify whether the project is at an early planning stage, being prepared for procurement or already approaching an intervention in the ground. The date by which a technical conclusion is required helps coordination. Outstanding information is communicated expressly rather than replaced with assumed values.
Mark all work involving ground intervention on the landscape plan and add elevations or depths. State which public paths or use areas should remain available during the works. Intended construction phases and work locations actually accessible also help the initial assessment. Identify the contact who can explain changes to the design, vegetation or access.
Assessing effort requires the distribution and size of ground intervention areas, proposed depths, existing surfaces and available working windows. Work already fixed is described separately from alternatives still open. Also state the technical conclusion initially needed for planning or procurement and when the first affected ground intervention is intended. This information enables coordination with the actual works and their operational constraints.
Assign records to their locations
Send the site plan and available reports with their associated appendices. For multiple construction stages, indicate which document relates to which area. Photographs supplement descriptions of vegetation, access and visible installations; they do not replace a site plan or information on underground components, planned ground interventions and depths. Nor can photographs alone establish the coverage of earlier surveys. For older reports, the associated site plans and appendices are also passed on. If their spatial assignment is unclear, identify this question in the enquiry. An overview can relate earlier path names or section names to current planning. Clear identifiers help for separate planting and foundation positions. Add known limitations and identify areas initially inaccessible. Existing information can thus be related specifically to the current task. The specialist contractor can then explain which information is still needed for reliable survey planning and which outstanding issues must be clarified before intended execution.
Play and sports areas
Planning sports and play areasCemetery areas
Preparing work in cemeteriesBanks and renaturation
Preparing watercourse work
Have your project assessed
Whether historical aerial photograph analysis, explosive ordnance surveying, surface surveying using GPR, magnetometry or TDEM, deep-ground surveys, downhole surveys, excavation supervision, area clearance or ordnance recovery is needed depends on the location, ground disturbance, depth, ground and existing documents. An early ordnance assessment provides clarity for tendering, programming, occupational safety and construction.
FONTANA-EOD combines its Section 7 SprengG licence, specialists holding Section 20 SprengG certificates of competence, suitable survey and clearance methods, and traceable documentation. Send the site plan, depth of ground disturbance, construction phase and existing documents for an initial technical assessment.
