Specialist personnel with a tablet at a marked-out construction site in front of a building complex.

Ordnance surveying for schools and childcare facilities

For an extension, new utilities or schoolyard remodelling, planned ground interventions are checked for survey needs. FONTANA-EOD compares areas and depths with existing ordnance findings. Access and working times are agreed with the operator, institution management and site management so that survey areas and areas remaining in use can be organised separately.

Defining the construction area

Distinguish ground interventions from areas in use.

Coordinating times

Coordinate working times with ongoing operations.

Assign results

Hand over construction stages clearly.

Municipal project overview

Send project documentsSelect suitable investigation services
Context

Planning construction work separately from the institution's everyday activities

For schools and childcare facilities, survey needs are clarified according to planned groundworks and existing findings. Construction areas, children's routes and areas remaining in use are distinguished in space and time. FONTANA-EOD coordinates the technical survey with the planners; the operator and institution management contribute operational requirements.

Investigation task

Check existing findings against new interventions

Two people with a tablet beside a marked construction area; plans lie in the foreground.

Define the planned work in the ground

A school or childcare project may involve several simultaneous works: an extension, drainage, external works, play equipment or temporary access. Each may affect different areas and depths. The ordnance specialist task follows these ground interventions and the existing suspected hazard rather than the property name alone.

Determining survey needs for individual groundworks
Project types

The extension, schoolyard and areas remaining in use

Project enquiry for ordnance assessment and surveys.

An extension with new connections

An extension may need new utility and drainage routes beyond the excavation itself. The site plan shows these connections together with working spaces, shoring and any preliminary investigations. For the school or childcare facility, areas that should remain accessible during work must also be identified. Ordnance surveying relates to the affected volumes of ground; operational organisation is coordinated with it but remains a separate task of the operator and responsible management.

Have extension and connection plans assessed
Two people with a tablet beside a marked construction area; plans lie in the foreground.

Schoolyard reconstruction

During remodelling, surface excavation, new drainage, tree positions and play facilities may reach very different depths. The yard's total area does not describe these differences. Technical preparation therefore explains which layers are removed and where deeper individual components are planned. An existing report is compared with this breakdown. This is necessary even if subsequent use remains a schoolyard and the reconstruction is perceived externally mainly as a new surface.

Selecting methods for layer excavation and individual components
Two people with a tablet beside a marked construction area; plans lie in the foreground.

Temporary arrangements during construction

A modular building, temporary entrance or temporarily diverted utility may require additional foundations or trenches. These ground interventions are considered together with the main project even though they will be removed after completion. The plan also shows when the area is freely accessible and when operations need it. Temporary use alone establishes nothing about the survey needed to construct or subsequently remove a component.

Selecting surveys for temporary ground interventions
Prepare the decision

Prepare the next work step technically

The holiday window is fixed

The available period is compared with the documents available, preparatory work and possible follow-up tasks. A site vacant according to the calendar is not thereby surveyable. For the desired work date, the first clarification establishes which construction stages will actually be accessible and which prerequisites remain outstanding. These include agreed access, available plan appendices and technically clarified preparation of work areas. Holidays or closure days may provide a suitable organisational window but do not replace a decision about the technical task. If a section is accessible only later, it is recorded accordingly in planning. Results from a section already treated are not extended to that later section without checking. The operator and site management can thus relate handovers to actual progress rather than derive further use solely from a calendar entry.

Teaching continues

The operator and institution management identify routes and operating times. The specialist planners then clarify how work areas can be accessed and separated from use before a survey programme is agreed. While operations continue, the operator also describes the access, delivery routes and external areas the institution needs. Site management compares this information with construction access and working space. Spatial separation is defined for the specific construction phase and reconsidered if the work area changes. Those responsible for deliveries and the companies involved also receive the agreed version. Technical survey tasks and organisational operating tasks thus remain clearly assigned. A barrier or relocated route describes current construction organisation; it does not extend a survey report's technical conclusions. Unresolved overlaps are raised before defining the programme.

An individual component is replaced

For new play equipment or a mast, foundation position, depth and working space are described. Replacement at a known position is not automatically the same ground intervention as original construction. The foundation description includes its proposed position and the area actually needed for work. A new design, additional anchors or a changed utility connection may cause different interventions even if the visible play equipment looks similar. Existing reports are therefore related to this specific task and its spatial boundaries. For a relocated installation, old and new positions are shown distinctly on the plan. The planners also identify early work insofar as it affects the ground. The specialist contractor assesses the task according to actual conditions and identifies which questions the intended approach can answer.

Project-specific tasks

Which areas should be visible on the plan

01

The extension and technical connections

Mark the excavation, foundations and new building connections together. A utility to the heating plant or drainage may lie outside the extension itself. The previously surveyed building location does not automatically include such additional routes.

02

Schoolyard and external grounds

Surface works, new edging, tree positions, play equipment foundations and infiltration facilities are distinguished by their actual depths of ground intervention. An area-wide schoolyard plan therefore needs additional information on individual components and intended terrain changes.

03

Children's routes and construction traffic

Locate regular and temporarily diverted access, delivery routes and construction access. Operational routing and the boundaries needed for specialist work must be compatible. Specific barriers and protective measures are determined by those responsible on site.

04

Areas used in sequence

If one building wing is treated first and the yard later, assessment statuses are documented separately. Temporary storage, scaffolding or modular buildings may change later access. Such intermediate conditions should already be considered when determining the survey sequence.

Project documents

These documents connect the instruction and result

A use plan alongside the construction plan

The construction plan describes technical ground interventions; a supplementary use plan shows routes, entrances and areas still needed. Both documents are related to each other. The use plan replaces neither depth information nor the technical survey boundaries. Staged works need an identifiable relationship between the construction area and grounds remaining in use. Entrances or routes diverted during a particular phase are assigned to that version. If an additional work area is added, the specialist planners receive the change for assessment. The report can then relate to the area actually commissioned. A plan for subsequent use and a plan for the current construction phase may contain different areas; these differences remain identifiable at handover. Institution management and site management can thus distinguish information organising operations from information describing the technical survey.

Coordinating preparatory work

Preparatory removal of installations and setup of work areas are described with their actual ground intervention. The plan records the prerequisites needed for surveying and who will provide them after technical coordination. Necessary surveys and protective measures are planned before ground interventions during vegetation clearance, surface removal or creation of survey access, work areas and access routes. Sections accessible later are surveyed before the respective subsequent interventions.

For each outstanding prerequisite, responsibility for clarification and the construction stage dependent on it are identified. Preparation merely announced is not adopted in operational planning as a condition already achieved.

After a change to access or a work area, a check establishes whether the agreed survey conditions still exist. If an area must be deferred, it remains marked as outstanding in the overview. Later work receives its own spatial reference and results status. When the construction company changes or work resumes after an operational break, outstanding tasks are passed on with their location and results status.

A clear status for each section

After a survey step, treated and outstanding areas are documented clearly for site management. When work resumes later, a targeted check can establish whether new components, depths or construction boundaries are added. Handover identifies the specific construction task covered by the report and the plan version it concerns. A survey for the extension cannot be applied to later new external works solely because of a shared property boundary. The operator and planners check the later task according to its actual position and depth. For several report sections, the overview plan, detailed appendices and associated limitations remain retrievable together. A utility added during construction or changed working space is also retained in the records. Subsequent site management can then identify questions answered, areas still outstanding and changes requiring an additional technical conclusion. The associated position and depth reference remains part of handover.

Construction phases

Keep construction phases and changes traceable

Holiday construction with a prepared survey commission

To use a short time window effectively, site plans, available reports and necessary access should be agreed before it begins. The survey itself may raise additional questions; addressing them must not be implicitly equated with subsequent construction work. The programme therefore distinguishes surveying, interpretation and the decision about the next ground intervention. Necessary contacts are also identified for periods when regular users and parts of the administration are absent.

Coordinate this work step

Surveying separate yard areas

If part of the schoolyard remains in use, the spatial boundary with the survey area must be clearly shown. Routing must remain understandable during deliveries and changes of construction phase as well. For technical documentation, however, the area actually surveyed is decisive rather than merely the line of a temporary barrier. If barriers move or other areas are used for storage, a check establishes whether access or the proposed ground intervention differs from the agreed version.

Coordinate this work step

Handover to institution management

The technical report and communication about continued operation serve different purposes. Site management needs information about methods, areas, limitations and outstanding tasks. Institution management needs clear information about the agreed work areas and organisational effects. Both receive a consistent status without a limited survey being described as a blanket conclusion for the entire school or childcare grounds. Later alterations are compared again with the retained plan appendices.

Coordinate this work step
Documentation

Handing results and outstanding areas over to the operator and site management

Assign the results to the project

Institution management needs to know the organisational effects of a survey. For construction, it also matters which findings cover which ground intervention. This information should be consistent without reducing technical conclusions to a blanket all-clear for the entire grounds. Following actual exposure or clearance work, the associated findings and clearance records are included.

Coordinate tasks and further works

If an unexpected suspicious object is encountered, stop work in the affected area immediately. Do not touch, move or further expose it. Leave the immediate area and keep others away without putting yourself at risk. In Germany, notify the police immediately on 110; outside Germany, use the local emergency reporting procedure. The competent authorities determine the next steps. Inform site management and the client; internal reporting must not delay the emergency call. Further measures and arrangements for affected user areas are coordinated with the responsible parties and authorities.

Next steps

Coordinating surveying with school or childcare operations

01

Bringing construction and use plans together

Show planned ground interventions, access and areas remaining in use in a shared plan. Existing information and survey reports are checked for their current status, spatial coverage and outstanding questions concerning the present construction task. For historical questions still outstanding, suitable sources are researched and aerial photographs of the affected area assessed. Findings are assigned to the present construction project and incorporated into further survey planning.

02

Identifying contacts and tasks

The operator, institution management, planners and site management agree responsibilities and information routes.

03

Clarifying survey conditions

Compare access, installations, preparatory work and the available time window with the technical task. The suitable survey method is defined for the respective ground interventions and site conditions.

04

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.

05

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.

06

Handing over a documented construction section

Assign the report and plan appendix to the specific section; retain outstanding areas and changes in the records.

Technical assessment

Clarifying site obstructions and measurement conditions

Installations and existing metal components

Fences, play equipment, utilities or reinforced surfaces may affect geophysical surveys and their positions belong in preparation. The actual conclusions achievable are assessed for the specific area; a measurement image without evident anomalies does not provide a general safety guarantee.

Distinguishing construction preparation tasks

Before removing surfacing or edging, clarify whether this already involves intervention in ground with suspected ordnance. Necessary preparatory work and surveying itself must be coordinated in a technically suitable sequence. Necessary surveys and protective measures are carried out before the affected ground intervention.

Identifying inaccessible areas

If an area beneath a modular building, structure or permanent installation remains inaccessible, this is explicitly identified in the results. A later survey can then address this outstanding task rather than assume a supposedly complete property assessment.

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 assessment

Magnetometric survey

Magnetometry measures variations in the magnetic field; ferromagnetic objects may cause measurable anomalies. Whether it can address the specific survey task depends, among other factors, on expected objects, ground conditions, interference and the required survey volume. Fences, utilities or existing structures may affect interpretation. A measurement signal is therefore not identified as explosive ordnance solely because of its strength. The method, interpretation and any further clarification are planned as a coherent specialist task.

Understand the scope of magnetometry

Electromagnetic 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 surveying

Ground-penetrating radar

Under suitable conditions, ground-penetrating radar can provide information about structures and reflections in the ground. Electromagnetic waves are reflected at material and structural boundaries. Ground conditions, moisture, installations and the particular survey task affect interpretability. An anomaly is not automatically explosive ordnance, and an area with no evident anomalies is not general evidence for arbitrary depths. Technical interpretation and limitations are documented with the commission. A survey for other purposes is not adopted without checking as evidence concerning explosive ordnance.

GPR and limitations

Deep-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 interventions

Survey 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 construction
Working approach

How FONTANA-EOD works

Document the agreed specialist service clearly

FONTANA-EOD relates the survey to a described ground intervention and a traceable set of documents. Before execution, the technical task, accessible areas and required results are agreed. If planning or site conditions change, a check establishes whether the agreed scope still fits. The report records the work actually performed and its limitations. Further construction planning can thus identify available conclusions and where additional clarification remains necessary. Conclusions apply to the documented commission, surveyed area and method limitations; they are not extended generally to all buildings, external spaces or future work at the institution.

Discuss the investigation task

The 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.

Project site

Connect the site with the specific construction task

Illustrated map of Germany with location markers on a construction site.

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.

Identify the project region
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 terminology

Use 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 scope
Documents and execution

Consider records and surveying together

Two monitors displaying aerial photographs and maps; further aerial photograph printouts lie on the desk.

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
Two people discussing plans at a table beside a vehicle on a construction site.

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
Four people in orange high-visibility vests in front of two excavators on a construction site.
Person with a yellow survey cart on a footpath in front of a hedge.
Questions from planning

Frequently asked questions about the project

Can surveying take place while the school or childcare facility is operating?

Whether surveying can take place alongside ongoing operations is checked for the respective area and intended method. The necessary work areas must be separated from use and access organised. A suitable time window can be defined only after this coordination.

Are holidays always the best time?

Holidays may provide vacant areas and simpler routing. Whether the time window is sufficient nevertheless depends on the documents available, preparatory work and assessment task. Surveying, possible follow-up steps and subsequent construction should not be placed in the same short period without checking.

Does replacing play equipment also matter?

What matters is the actual ground intervention. New or changed foundations may be deeper or in a different position from the previous installation. Existing documents are therefore compared with the proposed foundation positions and suspected hazard.

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 the object further. Leave the immediate area and keep others away without putting yourself at risk. In Germany, notify the police immediately on 110; outside Germany, use the local emergency reporting procedure. The competent authorities determine what happens next. Inform site management and the client; internal reporting must not delay the emergency call.

What determines survey effort and cost?

Key factors are area, depths of ground intervention, soil, interference, utilities, installations, access, ongoing use, closed areas, construction phases, existing findings, necessary methods and documentation scope. Effort relates to the survey actually needed and commissioned volume of ground; a holiday window alone does not determine the method.

Can an existing schoolyard report be used for an extension?

It may provide an important basis if plan appendices and survey scope are available. Whether it covers the extension depends on area, depth and limitations. New excavations, working spaces and utilities are compared with it individually. Being part of the same school property is insufficient for extending its conclusions.

Who provides information about use during the survey?

The institution's operator and responsible management organise communication about operations in coordination with planners and site management. FONTANA-EOD describes the technical requirements of the agreed survey. Which areas can be used and when is determined according to those requirements and the rest of the construction organisation.

Why must temporary utilities also be specified?

Installing them may require trenches, fixings or connection excavations outside the main construction area. These volumes of ground belong in task clarification even if the utility will later be removed. The actual ground intervention is decisive rather than how long the temporary arrangement is to be used.

Project enquiry

Compile the construction and use plans for your enquiry

Plan revision and decision deadline

State whether the enquiry concerns early planning, preparation for procurement or an imminent ground intervention. The date by which a technical conclusion is needed helps coordination. Outstanding information is explicitly reported rather than replaced with assumed values. Add proposed structures with depths, existing findings and a use plan with access and construction phases. Identify the operator, project contact and main operating times. For work during ongoing operations, also state which sections are accessible at which times and which areas must remain in use. Organisational measures already fixed and coordination still outstanding are identified separately. The size and distribution of ground intervention areas, known surfaces and intended depths also help a technical assessment of effort. The survey question relates to this information; an available holiday date alone does not describe a scope of services.

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 access and existing conditions; they do not replace information on underground structures or planned depths.

Project enquiry

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.

Send a project enquiry Call now Send documents Select services