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

Explosive ordnance surveying in Offenburg

For project owners, designers and site managers in Offenburg, FONTANA-EOD checks which existing investigation results answer the present explosive ordnance question. Earlier ground-penetrating radar measurements and archaeological findings are assessed according to their commissions, areas addressed and limits of conclusions. Send complete reports and the current plan of proposed groundworks with their depths.

Survey commission

Read the investigation objective at the time.

Existing assets

Connect reports with the new design.

Excavation

Clarify outstanding ground areas in good time.

Discuss the project's technical requirementsExplosive ordnance assessment in Baden-Württemberg
Assess the construction project

What should be considered for groundworks around existing structures in Offenburg?

Existing utilities, foundations and restricted access belong in preparation. Earlier investigations are also assigned to their respective purposes: an archaeological investigation answers different questions from an explosive ordnance assessment. The project's own design shows the areas and depths affected and the results needed before work begins.

Project references

Selected project examples

Project site

Connect the site with the specific construction task

Schematic map of Baden-Württemberg with its coat of arms, alongside a tablet, hard hat, notebook and pen.

Read the Offenburg planning cases according to purpose

The document on the town hall at Neuer Marktplatz, dated 24 November 2003, addresses explosive ordnance and archaeological ground-penetrating radar measurements separately. The Mühlbach-Karree text of 21 November 2016 contains its own local reference. For your project, relevant sources are followed up and compared with the present area and construction task. Offenburg is a major district town in the Ortenaukreis district and belongs to the Freiburg administrative district in Baden-Württemberg. The explosive ordnance disposal service responsible throughout the state is based at the Stuttgart regional authority. The project enquiry includes the actual address, plot and construction section. For another project location, local responsibility follows its location. State whether an existing report addresses archaeological, construction-related or explosive ordnance questions. The specialist planner can then assign results by purpose and connect them with present areas and ground disturbance depths.

Baden-Württemberg
Local context

Assess local wartime information and investigation purposes

Read the Kinzigvorstadt wartime reference spatially

The Mühlbach-Karree explanatory statement of 21 November 2016 identifies in Section 8.13 an aerial photograph assessment held by the explosive ordnance disposal service. The planning text relates its unexploded bomb reference to heavy bombing of Kinzigvorstadt during the Second World War. This local reference is read within the planning context at that time. For a current construction task, compare the actual project area and its own associated documents. Earlier development, demolitions and later ground changes are considered where documented for the affected area. The specialist planner relates the findings to the investigation objective and proposed ground disturbance. This establishes which existing conclusion is usable and which spatially defined question still needs specialist work.

Note the investigation purpose at Neuer Marktplatz

The explanatory statement for the Rathaus / Neuer Marktplatz development plan of 24 November 2003 addresses explosive ordnance and archaeology in separate sections. It describes an aerial photograph assessment with no indications of unexploded bombs within the plan area, expressly without guaranteeing absence of explosive ordnance. It separately identifies ground-penetrating radar measurements from November 2000 whose findings led to archaeological investigations. The measurements therefore had a specifically described context.

Check the commission underlying existing measurements

For your construction planning, knowing each commission matters. A reference to ground-penetrating radar or an earlier excavation alone does not establish a completed explosive ordnance investigation. Have existing reports assigned by question, area and volume of ground investigated. Useful site information is then considered without attributing a conclusion absent from the report.

Working together

Distinguish the tasks of client, designers and specialist contractor

Client and operator

The project owner describes the proposed work and provides the available project documents. The operator adds requirements for use, access and timing. A coordinating contact makes cooperation easier but does not automatically take on every other party's duties. Before commissioning, record clearly which information is missing, who will obtain it and which decision the result is intended to support.

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 scope. Official requirements and decisions are clarified with the competent authorities concerned. The documents needed for a particular procedure depend on the location and project. The technical report describes the specialist service performed; its conclusions are not presented unchecked as general authorisation for further groundworks or as an authority's decision.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

Select the method from the outstanding question

First establish the conclusion still missing for the planned works. Existing reports are checked to see whether they already answer this question. Only then is any additional investigation defined. Earlier use of a particular instrument alone does not prescribe a present-day method.

Compare investigation methods for the specific task

Document installed structures and investigation limits

Structural remains, utilities and restricted access may limit investigation. The report must show the areas actually addressed and conclusions possible. Further steps needed are agreed separately. A result from an accessible subarea is not applied indiscriminately to covered or inaccessible areas.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Assess investigation purpose alongside existing structures

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

Read earlier investigations according to their tasks

Send complete reports with the commission, date and appendices. A measurement method alone does not describe the question it was intended to answer. Specialist review therefore considers the objective, analysis and limits of conclusions. An archaeological finding does not become evidence of an explosive ordnance investigation without further basis.

Document the investigation commission and scope of conclusions
Two people with a tablet beside a marked construction area; plans lie in the foreground.

Record conditions for present groundworks

Mark utilities, old foundations and other known structures on the current plan. Add access, available working space and planned ground disturbance. This information helps prepare the investigation technically. The suitable method is selected using the specific question and actual conditions.

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

Pass on results with their purpose

Each report is handed over with its associated appendices and investigation scope. Site management must be able to identify the question it answers. Results from different disciplines may jointly influence the sequence but retain their limits. Outstanding explosive ordnance questions are therefore explicitly recorded as separate tasks.

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.

State whether the report arose from an archaeological search, utility detection or explosive ordnance investigation. The documents must make the commission, location and result traceable. Where several disciplines are involved, identify their reports separately. A project overview shows the conclusion still missing. The suitable specialist commission is related to this outstanding question. For additional investigation, agree the affected areas and results documents required.

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 sound workflow distinguishes work already clarified technically from outstanding prerequisites. If an area will be accessible only in part, commissioning must take this into account. Handover and assessment of results also need time in the construction sequence. An enquiry therefore does not imply a blanket commitment on dates or cost. Specific coordination connects the described scope with access, documents, execution conditions and the date by which a decision is needed.

Sequence planning also identifies preparatory works, such as connections, shoring points or additional working pits. The specialist planner checks the area covered by existing results. Where access to previously covered areas becomes possible in stages, the work required is agreed with those responsible. The quotation describes the agreed task and documents to hand over. Execution, specialist analysis and handover of results are included in the programme. The next construction task is compared with the stage of work actually available.

Discuss the scope and schedule
Tasks at the site

What older documents establish for new earthworks

01

Identify the reason for measurement

Read the report to establish why investigation took place and which results were expected. Locating structural remains, researching utilities and investigating explosive ordnance are different tasks. Similar equipment names do not make their results interchangeable. Provide the complete report, rather than only an illustration showing measurement lines.

02

Do not apply local references to other areas

The Mühlbach-Karree explanatory statement from November 2016 contains its own unexploded bomb reference for Kinzigvorstadt and identifies involvement of the explosive ordnance service in the building application process. This is a planning reference tied to a specific area and time. It does not replace assessment of an individual project today and must not be used as a general statement for every plot in Offenburg.

03

Mark old structures and new ground disturbance

For works around existing structures, former foundations, filled cellars or utilities may be relevant to planning. Identify known structures on the site plan and mark the new groundworks with their depths. Where information is uncertain, keep this uncertainty identifiable. An assumed location is not a reliable substitute for evidence of existing conditions.

04

Address further technical questions separately

Archaeology, ground conditions and explosive ordnance may concern the same construction area. The responsible specialists must nevertheless assess their tasks separately and coordinate the sequence together. A finding usable for one question may be only supplementary information for another. This also applies when all documents are filed under one project name.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Coordinate archaeology and explosive ordnance in the construction sequence

If both matters need to be addressed, record responsibilities and prerequisites for each activity. Those involved must know the results needed before ground disturbance. An archaeological work step does not thereby become an explosive ordnance assessment. Specialist coordination places both tasks in the proposed construction sequence. A common overview can bring together the sequence and documents needed by the disciplines involved. Each investigation commission remains identifiable in its associated report. Explosive ordnance methods, areas or points addressed, depths, assessments and limits of conclusions are documented in the report and plan appendices. For commissioned clearance works, the clearance record with location and results details forms part of the evidence. Technical questions are passed to the responsible contact. Site management receives the complete appendices needed for the specific next work section.

Relate historical information to the project's own area

An older planning text may contain important research leads. Read it with its date and scope at that time. For the present project, compare its own areas and ground disturbance. A specific statement about Kinzigvorstadt is not applied to other Offenburg plots without review. Record the planning text's date separately from the date of an assessment named within it. A planning reference leads to the underlying specialist document; comparison requires its complete appendices. The investigation map is compared with the present design. Changes to plot boundaries, excavations or utilities remain identifiable in the comparison. Identify information originating from later additions. The relevant version of the results can then be passed to other project participants.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Assemble reports before ground disturbance

Provide historical assessments and technical reports with the current design. Identify each investigation task and add known structures. Specialist review can then use existing knowledge. Remaining questions are assigned to the appropriate discipline and addressed further before execution. For each report, state the question it was intended to address. Enclose results plans and information on the areas actually covered. The current design shows the excavation, foundation, utility connections and other proposed ground disturbance. Mark known structures and uncertainties in existing-site documents. Also describe available working space and access. The specialist planner can use existing knowledge to define the investigation scope still needed for the present construction task.

Coordinate the construction phase with us

Update prerequisites during execution

New installed structures or changed ground disturbance may affect the proposed sequence. Pass these changes with locations and depths to the responsible specialist planner. Existing results are checked for continued usability. Site management then receives a traceable status of completed and outstanding tasks. If a contractor changes, relevant reports, plans and technical additions are assigned to the working area taken over. A handover list identifies outstanding tasks and specialist contacts. Site management checks whether the associated appendices are complete. After a stoppage, the next planned groundworks are also compared with the documented status. Additions needed are agreed before the affected works. New results are dated in the project file and passed to affected participants.

Coordinate the construction phase with us
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

The method must suit the explosive ordnance question

Bring usable knowledge together

Preparation includes the Historical aerial photograph analysis as well as review of other relevant findings. Existing results should be considered within their precise scope. Whether the planned use needs further investigation follows from specialist assessment, rather than only a report's age or previous development.

Define the measurement task and limits

Any necessary Surveying is planned according to the investigation objective and local conditions. Utilities, structural remains or other interference may affect assessability. A method is not automatically suitable for every subsurface task. Uninvestigated or unassessable areas must be identified to avoid an unsupported conclusion about the entire construction area.

Organise works around existing structures appropriately

Any necessary Clearance plan must consider when each area is accessible and which preparatory works themselves disturb the ground. Planned archaeological or construction works must be coordinated. Visual observation alongside works does not replace a proper specialist explosive ordnance investigation; explosive ordnance clearance during construction also needs a basis suited to the task.

Next steps

Prepare the next construction section specifically

01

Describe the new work precisely

State whether a utility, excavation or another structural element is proposed. Add the locations and depths of ground disturbance and existing findings. The specialist commission can then focus on the actual outstanding question rather than treating existing investigations of different types as generally sufficient or unusable. The first project discussion requires the address, construction phase and forthcoming groundworks. The specialist planner checks existing explosive ordnance information and reports for drawing revision, area and depth coverage, and outstanding questions about the present task. Complete appendices are included in the comparison. This establishes the conclusion still usable and the information missing for the next ground disturbance.

02

Compare reports with their plans

Assign earlier investigations to the present plot and planned construction section. An older report may remain relevant; a changed boundary or greater depth may also raise additional questions. Have this comparison made before work begins so that necessary additions can be included in the construction sequence.

03

Coordinate historical evidence and methods

Where the existing evidence does not yet answer today's question, the required historical research or aerial photograph assessment is carried out for the specific construction area. Findings are assigned spatially and connected to the planned ground disturbance. Specialist planning uses this to define the investigation scope and a suitable method. Ground structure, installed structures, measurement limits and intended depths are considered. Access and necessary preparatory work are agreed with the responsible parties. Existing knowledge that is sufficient continues to be used for further planning.

04

Carry out and assess the commissioned investigation

Specialist staff carry out the defined survey or supervision for the agreed task. Measurement data, findings and the investigation conditions actually achieved are recorded with location and depth references. Unaddressed areas and areas with limited interpretability remain identifiable. The data collected is assessed against the investigation objective and local interference. This establishes further work requirements or the results handover. If a suspicious object is encountered, work stops and the responsible response authorities are notified.

05

Agree handover to other participants

Ensure site management and affected specialist planners receive the same results and limitations. These include maps and information on the area investigated. A meeting note without appendices cannot replace documentation. Outstanding areas must remain identifiable until the clarification needed is available. Specialist assessment is recorded in a report with associated plan appendices. These document methods, areas and depths actually addressed, and limits of conclusions. Site management compares the next ground disturbance with them and agrees necessary additions before it begins.

06

Do not silently adopt changes

If a foundation is deepened or a route moved, the revised design must be compared with previous results. Additional work is needed where existing conclusions no longer apply. Progress on site or earlier use of an area alone does not establish suitability for the new ground disturbance.

Documentation

Distinguish explosive ordnance duties from other responsibilities

Findings and their scope

The explosive ordnance disposal service at the Stuttgart regional authority is responsible for Baden-Württemberg. Subject to available capacity, it provides advice, searches and recovery against reimbursement of costs; where it cannot act, private specialist contractors must be commissioned for these tasks. State duties for rendering explosive ordnance safe and handling recovered ordnance are not thereby transferred to private contractors.

Project responsibilities

FONTANA-EOD agrees the commissioned specialist services for your project with you. Necessary coordination with authorities or other disciplines remains separate. The BFR KMR guidelines may provide technical guidance outside their federal scope. An archaeological or building law decision does not replace explosive ordnance assessment, nor vice versa.

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

Distinguish the measurement method from the investigation commission

A method may be used for different tasks. Whether a report answers an explosive ordnance question follows from the commission, investigation and assessment. Do not read only the method name. The documented scope and limits of conclusions remain decisive for further use.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

Continue using older documents carefully

An older date does not automatically make a document unusable. Specialist review compares its content with the present project and possible later changes. Complete appendices help this comparison. Additional investigations are defined for specific outstanding questions rather than solely because of a report's age.

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
Person wearing an orange high-visibility vest on a marked construction area with small piles of soil
Person wearing an orange high-visibility vest with a MALÅ survey cart on grass
Questions from planning

Questions about investigations around existing structures in Offenburg

Does an earlier ground-penetrating radar measurement automatically establish absence of explosive ordnance?

No. The investigation objective, analysis and documented scope are decisive. The town hall explanatory statement of 2003 describes ground-penetrating radar in connection with archaeological findings; this does not constitute evidence of explosive ordnance clearance.

Does the Mühlbach-Karree reference apply to all of Offenburg?

No. The explanatory statement from November 2016 concerns a specific planning area and refers to findings about Kinzigvorstadt. For a particular plot, its own documents and planned ground disturbance are decisive.

Must older assessments always be prepared again?

No. First compare their content, area investigated and limitations with the present design. Only this establishes whether further information or additional investigations are needed.

Can archaeology and explosive ordnance be planned together?

The work sequence should be coordinated. The respective specialist tasks and responsibilities remain separate. A report for one investigation does not automatically replace evidence for the other question.

What should I do if a suspicious object is found?

Stop work and keep your distance. Do not touch or move the object; keep others away. Call the police on 110 from a safe distance and follow their instructions.

Why is the investigation commission among the documents needed?

It shows the question addressed. Simply naming a measurement method is insufficient to assign the result.

Which existing-site details help preparation?

Show known utilities, foundations, access and working space together with planned ground disturbance areas and depths.

How are results handed over and which cost factors matter?

With their respective purposes, appendices, investigation areas and limits; outstanding tasks remain separately identifiable. The work involved depends on investigation scope, area or number of points, depth, available documents, access, interference and the suitable method. Necessary preparatory works and results documents needed are also agreed. Scheduling considers the prerequisites that must be met and when assessment is needed for the next work section.

Project enquiry

Prepare the first technical discussion

State investigation purposes

Enclose complete reports with their commissions and appendices. Planning groundworks around existing structures in Offenburg and seeking to interpret existing investigation results? Send us the full reports and plan for the next construction section. We will discuss the information needed for the specialist commission with you.

Show existing structures and ground disturbance

Mark utilities, foundations, access, planned areas and depths. Also state which earthworks are to start first and which areas remain inaccessible. Necessary preparatory works and handover of results can then be coordinated in good time.

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.

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