Technical map view of the Stuttgart administrative district with Stuttgart marked for explosive ordnance assessment and surveying by FONTANA-EOD

Explosive ordnance surveying in Heidenheim an der Brenz

Planning ground investigations, utilities or an excavation in Heidenheim an der Brenz and need to coordinate several specialist requirements? FONTANA-EOD helps project owners, designers and site managers assess explosive ordnance for the proposed ground disturbance. Send the site plan and existing statements so that investigation needs, prerequisites and handovers can be clarified alongside the other works.

Ground intervention

Include preparatory works.

Coordination

Involve the relevant disciplines.

Results

Relate conclusions to their scope.

Assess the construction project

What needs coordination for preparatory investigations in Heidenheim?

An explosive ordnance assessment before construction in Heidenheim an der Brenz already includes preparatory ground disturbance. Ground investigations are described with their locations, methods and depths and compared with existing findings. Archaeological, soil protection and explosive ordnance tasks are coordinated during execution and documented with their own respective results. The next step follows from the specific outstanding question and prerequisites in the working area.

Project site

Connect the site with the specific construction task

Illustrated map of Baden-Württemberg with its three-lion coat of arms, a tablet, white FONTANA-EOD hard hat and notebook.

Locate the Kurze Straße reference precisely

The adopted plan dated 31 March 2023 treats particular plots differently and includes preparatory investigations in its archaeological considerations. For the project's own construction task, the precise plot and ground disturbance are therefore identified. Heritage protection, soil and explosive ordnance results each remain independently traceable. The official register of municipalities classifies Heidenheim an der Brenz as a major district town in the Heidenheim district and the Stuttgart administrative district in Baden-Württemberg. The project address and cadastral plots determine the local reference. For work outside the town boundary, the contacts for the actual municipality are involved. The explosive ordnance disposal service at the Stuttgart regional authority is responsible throughout the state. Further project locations are listed in the regional overview.

Local context

Historical sites and present ground disturbance in Heidenheim

Archaeological requirements also concern preparatory ground disturbance

The Stuttgart Main State Archive lists under M 77/1 Bü 573 a photograph dated around 1915 of a shell-filling room at the Voith company in Heidenheim. This provides specific evidence of a local munitions connection during the First World War. The city's local history describes the temporary use of the Heidenheim police school as a concentration camp subcamp during the Second World War and the town's surrender without fighting to American troops on 24 April 1945. For a historical investigation, former industrial and military sites are located using records and suitable dated images. Their relationship to the present construction area and subsequent changes forms the basis for assessing the specific grounds for suspicion.

The Heidenheim development plan Kurze Straße, adopted version dated 31 March 2023, expressly identifies archaeological considerations for particular plots, including preparatory works. Examples include geological trial investigations and the search for explosive ordnance. The same written provisions address suspected contaminated land separately. The different notices do not concern the same technical question.

Treat the explosive ordnance question as a separate task

For construction preparation, this means an investigation itself forms part of the work sequence to coordinate as soon as it disturbs the ground. An archaeological requirement alone does not establish explosive ordnance contamination. Equally, an explosive ordnance investigation does not replace clarification under heritage protection legislation. Those involved must know which area and activity each requirement concerns.

The Kurze Straße text expressly distinguishes the plots. For the former abattoir plot 1707, it describes archaeological trial investigations and construction supervision in 2019, as well as modern-era ground raising. In contrast, the adjoining western plots 1705, 1705/1, 1705/2 and 1705/4 are treated as still subject to archaeological considerations. Searching for explosive ordnance is also mentioned there as possible preparatory ground disturbance. A new specialist enquiry therefore identifies the precise plot and planned working area. The archaeological investigation status and explosive ordnance question each receive their own technical assessment.

Working together

Coordinate responsibilities for explosive ordnance assessment

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 explosive ordnance specialist carries out the agreed investigation and documentation work. Requirements and decisions of public authorities are addressed with the responsible bodies. The documents needed for a particular procedure depend on the location and project. The technical report describes the work carried out, including its documented area, depth and scope. Decisions reserved for public authorities are made by those authorities.

For Heidenheim an der Brenz, the KMBD based at the Stuttgart regional authority is the statewide specialist authority. Preliminary investigation is commissioned with an application and an unambiguously bounded site plan. The project owner and designers provide existing documents and the current ground disturbance plan. The private specialist contractor addresses the agreed investigation scope and documents results and limits. Requirements from archaeology, soil protection and other disciplines are coordinated with the respective responsible authorities. Those responsible and the prerequisites for each activity remain identified for construction.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

Define the explosive ordnance task separately

Existing knowledge about the area is compared with the planned groundworks. Specialists use this to derive the investigation scope required. Selecting an archaeological or geotechnical method does not answer this question on its own. Suitable explosive ordnance methods are selected according to the investigation objective, local conditions and proposed ground disturbance.

Choose specialist methods for the separate explosive ordnance task

Coordinate execution with other requirements

A suitable technical investigation must also be practicable under the actual access and working conditions. Relevant requirements from other specialist authorities are considered early. Outstanding prerequisites remain identifiable in the sequence. Only an agreed task provides a reliable basis for preparing the specific works.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Coordinate several specialist requirements for the same working area

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

Organise existing findings by the questions they address

Provide explosive ordnance documents, archaeological statements and soil information with their respective appendices. A conclusion from one discipline does not automatically answer another's questions. Preparation establishes the findings available. Outstanding tasks are related separately to the planned area and next ground disturbance.

Assign specialist reports by task and scope
Two people with a tablet beside a marked construction area; plans lie in the foreground.

Show each preparatory point clearly

Mark ground investigation points and other individual ground disturbance on the same site plan as the later construction task. Add depth, proposed method and alternatives still outstanding. Those involved can use this to agree the respective prerequisites. If a point moves, the changed location must be considered again before work begins.

During joint preparation, record which discipline requires which prerequisite for each ground disturbance. A drilling point, trial investigation or search trench may affect the same volume of ground in different ways. The design therefore also includes preparatory working areas, access and additional utility connections. Specialists receive the plan with a common date and unambiguous point references. Alternatives not yet defined are marked accordingly. On this basis, necessary investigations and coordination with authorities can be arranged before each affected work activity begins.

Compare specialist services
Illustration: two people review plans and documents at a table beside a construction vehicle.

Hand over results clearly, separately and together

Each specialist report retains its own subject and scope. Site management is also shown the next work activity to which the documents relate. Missing results are explicitly identified. The sequence can then be organised without deriving comprehensive clearance from a completed partial task.

The project file brings together the commission, associated site plan and technical results. A survey report documents methods, measurement data, areas investigated, assessment of findings and measurement limits. A clearance record documents the scope of clearance works actually completed. For phased execution, usable results and further steps still required are handed over to site management. This information remains available if the designer or contractor changes. Later use of the report is checked against its area, depth and service scope and the conditions of the ground disturbance then proposed. The Clearance documentation records this documented service scope.

Document findings and their limitations
Preparation

Prepare the scope and commission together

Establish what needs to be known before commissioning the work

First establish which decision the commission needs to support. Is the task an initial assessment of existing documents, an investigation of a specific area or examination of an anomaly that has already been assessed? These tasks require different evidence. A general wish for safety does not define an investigation that can be carried out. The enquiry therefore specifies the groundworks, location, depth and available findings. Suitable specialist work and the required reporting are then agreed on that basis.

Define the specialist task

Coordinate preparatory work with the investigation

Required access and survey conditions are clarified before the site visit. This may include keeping areas clear, obtaining service information and coordinating with other trades. The method and site determine which preparations are actually needed. Changes to the surface or additional groundworks are not undertaken unilaterally simply to prepare for a survey. Their sequence is agreed with the specialist designers and responsible parties.

Clarify preparatory work in the programme

Agree a clear scope and schedule

A realistic programme distinguishes technically resolved work from prerequisites that are still outstanding. If only part of a site will be accessible, the commission must take this into account. Handover and assessment of the results also need time in the construction programme. The schedule and effort are agreed once the scope, access and prerequisites are clear. This coordination brings together the specified scope, access, documents, site conditions and the date by which a decision is needed.

Discuss the scope and schedule
Tasks at the site

Relate the requirements to the same site plan

01

Identify all preparatory ground disturbance

List ground investigation points and other planned groundworks as well as the later building. Location and depth should be traceable. A general phrase such as 'preliminary investigations' is often insufficient. Only the actual project allows specialist planners to assess the coordination needed and dependencies between steps.

02

Identify the affected plot precisely

The Kurze Straße text distinguishes the former abattoir plot, following archaeological investigation, from adjoining western plots. This distinction must not be lost when documents are passed on. A conclusion for one area does not become a conclusion for the neighbouring plot merely through proximity.

If an older conclusion can be located only through a former site reference, historical and current maps are assessed together. Retain the report appendices and available existing-site plans for this. A later subdivision or merger may change the reference while the original investigation boundary remains. Comparison shows the area actually addressed. Only then is the new ground disturbance compared with the existing result. Any uncertainty here becomes a specific research or document acquisition task in further preparation.

03

Consider soil contamination separately

For the Kurze Straße planning area, the written provisions identify soil material relevant to disposal and expert monitoring of earthworks and excavation. This is a requirement from another discipline. For your project, such information must inform work planning without treating it as a completed explosive ordnance assessment.

For site management, the results of the disciplines involved are clearly presented alongside each other. Each report's measurement methods, investigation objective and spatial limits remain identifiable. Soil material information may be relevant to occupational safety, equipment movements or disposal. It is passed to the responsible specialists. Explosive ordnance assessment uses its own historical and technical foundations. Joint discussions clarify the information needed before a particular activity and who provides it. If execution changes, this allocation is agreed again with those affected.

04

Obtain the right planning documents

Heidenheim additionally provides legally effective development plans from 1998 onwards online; extracts from all plans are available from the responsible department. If older documents are missing online, a targeted enquiry may therefore be needed. A missing result is not proof that no earlier investigations or requirements exist.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Identify cadastral plots and subareas unambiguously

Official planning notices may treat neighbouring plots differently. Clearly show the location of the proposed ground disturbance. Current and historical plans help where plots were previously divided or references changed. A conclusion about a neighbouring plot is considered only after specialist review of its actual scope. The evidence chain includes initial data, a site plan with cadastral plots, construction area or route, and historical records. Measurement data and survey results are linked to the assessment of findings. Where clearance works were actually carried out, the clearance record adds the scope addressed. The conclusion identifies the stage reached and further steps for outstanding areas.

Work with the same drawing revisions

Where several specialists are involved, they should receive the same version of the investigation plan. Changes to location, depth or execution are communicated to everyone affected. This helps avoid conflicting assumptions. A programme alone does not show whether prerequisites for the changed ground disturbance have been clarified.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Agree the investigation programme before commissioning

Describe all preparatory ground disturbance and the respective results expected. Enclose the relevant area documents. Designers, specialists and responsible authorities clarify the necessary prerequisites and handovers. The commission is then described so that area, depth and allocation of tasks remain traceable.

Compare again when moving into construction

The later construction design may extend beyond the points previously investigated. Compare the excavation, foundations and connections with the documented scope. Results that already apply continue to be used. Additional areas or changed depths undergo specialist review before the works planned there.

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

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 magnetometry

Electromagnetic methods

Electromagnetic investigations can be suitable for particular metallic targets and site conditions. Their suitability must be explained for the task, rather than inferred simply from the availability of equipment. Interfering installations, accessible areas and the findings required must also be considered. Results are documented with their location and survey conditions. The specialist assessment determines whether a supplementary method is needed; this remains a project-specific decision.

Understand electromagnetic surveying

Ground-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 limitations

Deep-ground and downhole surveys

For deeper groundworks, it may be necessary to establish whether a surface investigation can provide the required findings or another approach is needed. Preparation includes the location, depth, borehole layout and existing services. Creating access for the investigation must also be properly planned by specialists. A general depth figure or standard grid cannot replace that work. Findings remain limited to the areas actually investigated and the method used.

Prepare deep interventions

Survey during construction

If a necessary preliminary investigation cannot be completed, the specialists assess whether a planned approach during construction is suitable. This includes coordinated investigation, interpretation and communication of findings within the intended work sequence. Visual observation of excavated material is not an interchangeable substitute for a necessary survey. Site management needs a clear description of when specialist work will take place, how new findings will be handled and which areas remain unresolved.

Agree the approach during construction
Technical assessment

Coordinate explosive ordnance assessment with other investigations

Assess the existing knowledge

The Historical aerial photograph analysis and other existing findings can help assess grounds for suspecting explosive ordnance in the specific construction area. Archaeological maps or soil disposal information do not replace this specialist assessment. It should remain clear which document answers which question and where an adequate conclusion is still unavailable.

Plan any necessary measurement commission appropriately

Whether Surveying is needed, and which method is suitable, follows from the investigation objective and local conditions. These include installed structures, access and possible interference. Specialist selection cannot be derived solely from which other trade is already working on site.

If you wish to have a suspected explosive ordnance area in Heidenheim an der Brenz assessed, the investigation task is related to the volume of ground proposed. Suspected target objects, ground structure, existing utilities and interfering metal objects affect method selection. Reinforcement, foundations or fill may limit assessability. Clearance for a borehole is recorded with its point location and documented depth range. For deep-ground surveying or area clearance, the areas addressed and service scope are defined. Locations that cannot be adequately assessed remain identifiable in the result with their positions and further investigation needs. The Surveying is matched to the conclusion required.

Define the sequence on a technical basis

Any necessary Clearance plan must fit the other planned works. This applies particularly to ground investigations where several specialist requirements coincide. There is no general sequence that covers every construction area without review. Merely observing excavation does not replace necessary explosive ordnance clarification; clearance methods during construction require suitable prerequisites.

In the tender, explosive ordnance specialist works are described as a separate service scope with the necessary coordination between disciplines. Site plans, ground disturbance depths, known sources of interference and access conditions form a common basis for quotations. Those responsible agree prerequisite services and handovers with the other trades. For suitable excavation monitoring, the working area, procedure and protective measures are agreed. Outstanding prerequisites are clarified before the respective ground disturbance. If the drawing revision changes, the specialist contractor receives the revised brief in good time before work begins. Results documents are assigned to the sections actually addressed. Any necessary Ordnance recovery is coordinated with the technical task and responsibility.

Next steps

How specialist commissions can be coordinated

01

Bring those involved together early

Identify the responsible design offices and specialist contractors already commissioned. A common description of the forthcoming groundworks is useful. This avoids each discipline working with a different or incomplete drawing revision. A central contact makes it easier to pass questions and changed requirements to everyone affected. Initial contact records the location, next groundworks and decision required. Document review relates existing specialist reports and drawings to the planned ground disturbance.

02

Identify the different conclusions

Organise existing reports by their investigation subject. A geotechnical result, heritage conservation statement and explosive ordnance report are not interchangeable. Record the area considered and associated drawing revision for each. If several documents describe different areas, clarify those boundaries before commissioning. Where adequate explosive ordnance information is missing, historical research and aerial photograph assessment are carried out. Method selection considers the grounds for suspicion, target objects, depth range, interference and access.

03

Confirm prerequisites before starting

Agree the information and decisions needed for the next ground disturbance. The contractor carrying out the work must know the restrictions to observe. Clearance from one discipline must not be understood without review as permission for all works. Outstanding requirements must remain explicitly accounted for in the sequence. The agreed survey or suitable supervision addresses the defined areas. The assessment relates findings and investigation limits to the specific construction task.

04

Communicate changes to all affected specialist teams

If a ground investigation point moves or a deeper foundation is planned, this may affect several previous assessments. Do not communicate the change only to the trade carrying out the work. The respective specialist planners check whether their earlier conclusions still apply. Only then can the next work section be coordinated properly. The report and location appendices, together with the clearance record where clearance works were carried out, document the specialist services. The subsequent decision defines further investigation or coordination for outstanding areas.

Documentation

Explosive ordnance tasks remain technically separate

Findings and their scope

The explosive ordnance disposal service at the Stuttgart regional authority is responsible throughout Baden-Württemberg. Within its capacity, it offers advice, searches and recovery against reimbursement of costs. If it cannot provide these services, private specialist contractors must be commissioned. Rendering recovered explosive ordnance safe remains the responsibility of the state service.

Project responsibilities

Discuss the explosive ordnance specialist services needed for your Heidenheim project with FONTANA-EOD. Other technical requirements are considered during coordination, while their respective responsibilities remain. The BFR KMR guidelines may provide technical guidance; outside their federal scope, they do not create an additional general obligation for every plot.

Working approach

How FONTANA-EOD works

Document the agreed specialist service clearly

We assess the planned groundworks against the available documents and their design revision. Before attending site, we agree with you what needs to be investigated, which areas are accessible and what findings are required. If the design or site conditions change, we check whether the agreed scope remains appropriate. The report states what was actually investigated and the limits of the findings. This allows designers and site management to see which findings they can use and where questions remain.

Discuss the investigation task

The task before the equipment

We first establish the investigation objective: which question must it answer? We then select a technically suitable method. The availability of a particular device or experience on a similar neighbouring site is not enough to justify the choice of method on its own.

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.

Understand the results

Use technical statements for the next decision

Retain the investigation purpose with its result

A report is easier to use when the underlying commission and area investigated are known. Retain plans and appendices with the result. Where several disciplines are involved, their respective references remain clear. This allows later checks of which conclusion can actually be used for new work.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

Obtain older planning documents from the city

If an older document needed is missing online, request it from the responsible authority. The city identifies its Urban Development, Urban Planning and Environment department for this. For technical preparation, relevant sections are then brought together with existing reports. A gap in the online records is not interpreted as the absence of a requirement. Different specialist reports may concern the same area while retaining their own subject. For a later excavation, a result for individual points is checked using location, depth and documented scope.

Understand the service scope
Design and findings

Documents for the next construction decision

Illustration: aerial photographs and maps on two screens and printed on a desk.

Historical evidence and the current design

Aerial photograph interpretation is related to the actual groundworks. Its purpose and geographical scope remain distinct from a technical investigation of the ground as it is today.

Understand aerial photograph assessment
Illustration: two people review plans and documents at a table beside a construction vehicle.

Specialist reports for site management

The findings, their locations and limitations are handed over together. This makes clear to those carrying out the work which area has been investigated and which task remains outstanding.

Assess investigation reports
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

Questions about several disciplines on one construction site

Does an archaeological notice also establish suspected explosive ordnance?

No. The two matters require separate specialist assessment. The fact that the Kurze Straße plan also addresses preparatory investigations demonstrates a need for coordination of ground disturbance, rather than a general explosive ordnance finding for Heidenheim.

Must investigation works also appear on the site plan?

Yes, where relevant to coordinating ground disturbance. Identify the proposed ground investigations with their locations and depths so that requirements for these precise works can be checked. Agree the investigation needed with the specialist contractor before the affected works, and official requirements with the responsible authority. The KMBD commission for preliminary investigation requires an application and a bounded site plan. The process connects document review, necessary historical assessment and method selection with investigation, assessment and documentation.

Can a result for a neighbouring cadastral plot be adopted?

Not merely because it is nearby. The area investigated, question addressed and scope of the conclusion must apply to the project's own works. The Kurze Straße plan itself distinguishes individual plots.

Where can older Heidenheim development plans be obtained?

For extracts from all development plans, the city refers to its Urban Development, Urban Planning and Environment department. Legally effective plans from 1998 onwards are also available online.

What should be done about a suspicious find during a ground investigation?

Stop work and leave the object untouched. Keep other people away, call the police on 110 from a safe distance and follow their instructions.

Which changes to a ground investigation must be communicated?

In particular, a different location, depth or execution method may affect technical prerequisites. The revised design is agreed before work begins. Method, ground structure and interference also limit the conclusions of a technical investigation. Areas that cannot be adequately assessed are identified in the report with their locations and further work needed.

Which documents record the explosive ordnance specialist works?

The report and location appendices document the areas addressed, depths, results and investigation limits. Where clearance works were actually carried out, the clearance record is included. Site management receives these documents together with outstanding tasks for the next ground disturbance.

Which factors affect the work involved in an explosive ordnance assessment?

Usable documents, research needed, required areas and depths, access and interference determine the work involved. Analysis, documentation and, where applicable, examination of findings form part of the agreed scope. State KMBD services and private specialist commissions are considered separately.

Project enquiry

Prepare the first technical discussion

Mark the ground disturbance

Describe ground investigation points, excavation and connections with their locations and depths. Add the address, cadastral plots, construction area, routes and drilling points, together with ground disturbance depths and construction dates.

Assemble the specialist documents

Send existing conclusions with their appendices and outstanding tasks. Enclose official conditions, aerial photograph assessments and utility plans with their revisions. State the project status, contacts and decision required.

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.