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

Explosive ordnance surveying in Schwäbisch Gmünd

An aerial photograph assessment is available for part of the planned works, while a different note applies to the access road. FONTANA-EOD helps project owners, designers and site managers in Schwäbisch Gmünd match these statements to the areas actually affected and define the specialist services needed. Send the complete reports and a current plan showing the proposed groundworks and their depths.

Construction area

Compare the areas needed.

Results

Use existing assessments.

Next steps

Plan only the measures needed.

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

Which conclusion applies to the planned groundworks in Schwäbisch Gmünd?

For an explosive ordnance investigation before construction in Schwäbisch Gmünd, existing assessments are compared with the location and depth of the planned ground disturbance. Their spatial scope, the investigation task at the time and the current design are decisive. Where needed, outstanding areas are addressed through further historical research, aerial photograph analysis and suitable technical investigations; their results determine the next specialist steps.

Project site

Match local findings to the construction areas affected

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

Read Aspen and the Gügling connection separately

The Aspen draft of 13 March 2026 and the plan for connecting Gügling to the Bargau bypass, dated 21 April 2026, contain different local findings. For your project, what matters is which area is actually affected. Complete plans and investigation results are therefore considered together before further steps are defined. According to the official municipality directory, Schwäbisch Gmünd is a major district town in the Ostalbkreis district, Stuttgart administrative district, in Baden-Württemberg. Provide the project address and affected cadastral plots. For a project in another municipality, local coordination follows its actual location. The explosive ordnance disposal service at the Stuttgart regional authority performs its duties statewide. Further locations are listed in the regional overview.

Baden-Württemberg
Local context

The end of the war, former uses and current investigation boundaries

Read the Aspen assessment within its own defined area

The draft development plan for the Nachhaltiger Technologiepark Aspen, dated 13 March 2026, describes a multitemporal aerial photograph assessment in Section 5.5. No indications of unexploded bombs were found for its investigation area; the text therefore provides for no additional measures. This conclusion must be considered in planning and must not be reinterpreted as a blanket requirement for investigation.

During the Second World War, Schwäbisch Gmünd was handed over to American troops without fighting on 20 April 1945. The City Archive's account of the end of the war names Villa Köhler in Parlerstraße as the first seat of the American military government and describes how liberated forced labourers were accommodated in the two barracks and in Gotteszell. When researching an affected area, such changes of use are compared with historical site plans and the present-day property. The subsequent technical investigation depends on the specific question arising from the documents and planned ground disturbance. For a former barracks site, this means identifying the buildings, open areas and later alterations actually affected. A historical place name alone determines neither the present property boundary nor the investigation scope required.

Consider the road connection note separately

By contrast, the separate plan Anbindung Gügling an die OU Bargau, dated 21 April 2026, states that explosive ordnance cannot be ruled out in the planning area. The two documents cover different defined areas. For a specific project, it is therefore necessary to check where buildings, access roads and connections actually lie and which document covers each area. Similar plan names do not answer this question.

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 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 with its documented area, depth and service scope.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

First match existing conclusions to their technical scope

Further measures are selected by first comparing the existing documents. What matters is the area investigated, the question addressed at the time and the current design. A conclusion that no additional measures are needed is taken into account within its evidenced limits. For other areas, requirements are determined separately before a technical method is selected.

Define further specialist services according to outstanding needs

Check measurement conditions in the outstanding area

If further investigations are needed, accessibility, existing structures and possible interference are considered. Identify known utilities and the planned construction sequence. The appropriate approach depends on the specific task and the conclusions that can be reached. Remaining limitations are documented and considered in subsequent work stages.

Method selection considers the soil profile, suspected target objects, required depth range and sources of interference together. Existing utilities, reinforcement, foundations and fill containing metal may limit interpretation. Different areas may therefore require different approaches. The specialist planner defines the task and the area to which it must relate. Locations that cannot be assessed are identified in the report together with the further clarification needed. Any required deep surveying is matched to the planned deep ground disturbance and the results needed for it. The Surveying is matched to this investigation objective.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Compare different planning areas clearly

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

Bring reports together with the areas they cover

Provide complete documents with their titles, dates and associated site plans. Neighbouring development plans may cover different areas and reflect different states of knowledge. The specialist review assigns each conclusion to its area. A brief result statement without this connection is insufficient to establish the scope of the question already addressed.

A report's appendices are also important when comparing areas. Mark the interfaces between the building, connecting utility and access road on the same current plan. If an older report refers to a former ground level, identify any subsequent raising or excavation of the ground. A borehole clearance record is kept with its respective point, documented depth range and scope of work. Where reference systems differ, the location must be traceable. Only then can it be determined which existing conclusion covers the planned ground disturbance and where a supplementary commission is needed.

Match reports to the areas their conclusions cover
Two people with a tablet beside a marked construction area; plans lie in the foreground.

Include access roads and connections as separate ground disturbance

Show all proposed groundworks on the current plan, including those outside the building footprint itself. These include new utility trenches, preparatory boreholes and an access road altered by construction. Add the respective depths. For each area, check whether existing results apply and what further steps may be needed.

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

Record the comparison for construction

Site management needs the reports used together with the current plans and their technical limitations. Record which conclusion covers which ground disturbance. Outstanding areas remain visible as separate tasks. A completed area does not replace a missing assessment for an adjoining section of the same project.

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

How to establish the scope already investigated

01

Compare construction boundaries with investigation boundaries

Mark the planned ground disturbance on a current site plan and place the investigation plan alongside it. Areas outside the future buildings should also be visible. A finding for a defined area cannot be transferred to an additional utility or new access road simply because it is nearby.

02

Obtain the complete assessment

A development plan may summarise a result. For specialist assessment, the associated report, its maps and any limitations are also important. If these appendices are missing, identify the gap in your enquiry. It can then first be clarified whether an existing report needs to be obtained before new services are defined.

03

Communicate plan revisions clearly

Identify the draft or construction plan on which your commission is based. If an excavation moves, the changed boundary should be visible on the new plan. A shared current version helps project owners, designers and specialist contractors coordinate and prevents different areas being addressed under the same project name.

04

Identify additional areas explicitly

Preparatory works may extend beyond the building itself. Examples include groundworks for drainage or site access roads. Describe these works by location and depth. The assessment should cover the working area actually needed; it should neither be extended to neighbouring areas without review nor reduced to the building footprint.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Show area boundaries clearly

A legible drawing should show both the planned ground disturbance and the boundaries of existing investigations. Unclear location references are identified as outstanding questions. The specialist assessment can then address the interfaces actually affected. The same street name alone does not demonstrate that two investigation areas coincide.

Address other ground-related matters separately

Planning documents may address contaminated land, ground conditions or archaeological matters as well as explosive ordnance. Read each statement in its own technical context. The results are brought together for the construction sequence but retain their individual investigation purposes. A result concerning pollutants no more replaces an explosive ordnance assessment than an explosive ordnance report replaces a ground investigation.

Where excavation monitoring is required, the commission defines working areas, technical prerequisites and cooperation with the construction trades. Method selection and the construction sequence are matched to the available findings. Where area clearance is required, the areas to be addressed and the agreed scope must be specified. Before investigating a finding, its location, access and necessary protective measures are coordinated. Actual finds are reported to the police, who arrange the next steps. Site management needs the results and any outstanding prerequisites before the subsequent works affected. Any necessary Ordnance recovery is coordinated with the respective specialist task and responsibility. After clearance work has actually been carried out, the clearance record documents the areas addressed, methods, findings and outstanding tasks; site management receives it together with the associated results documents.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Include both planning references with the enquiry

Send existing reports together with the current drawing of all ground disturbance. If several planning areas are affected, mark the interfaces and assign the available documents to them. This allows a targeted check of which conclusions are already available. Missing information is requested for the area concerned.

In your enquiry, identify the decision needed first: for example, assessing a new utility outside an area already investigated or preparing deeper boreholes. Include the current plan revision and the next scheduled works. A commission may initially cover obtaining and assessing missing documents. If this identifies a need for further investigation, the area, depth and handover of results are defined. Where external works change, drainage, working spaces and access roads altered by construction are also considered together with their ground disturbance.

Coordinate the construction phase with us

Check the affected area again when changes occur

A relocated connection or a new working space may extend beyond the area previously considered. Mark the change before carrying it out and add the planned depth. The existing evidence is checked against this change. Site management then receives the updated status with clear boundaries and further tasks.

For a design change, first identify the additional volume of ground needed. This also applies to a lateral shift at the same depth. The specialist planner compares this area with the earlier investigation boundaries and measurement conditions at the time. The outstanding technical question determines what additional work is required. Results that remain usable continue to be used. The updated report identifies the new design affected and the resulting tasks; site management receives this version together with the relevant location appendices.

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

Specialist assessment determines whether surveying is needed

Use existing results first

The Historical aerial photograph analysis may document a question already answered or identify a need for further clarification. Both form part of the assessment. A technical investigation should follow from the specific need. Construction alone does not justify the same investigation scope for every area.

For an area suspected of containing explosive ordnance in Schwäbisch Gmünd, sources and imagery from different dates are assigned to the specific investigation area. A plan note may summarise the result of an earlier assessment; its report and maps are consulted for a new question. Documented building positions, altered access roads and later fill may affect location references. The assessment therefore distinguishes historical use from present-day terrain and construction conditions. Existing favourable results remain part of the assessment within their evidenced limits.

Investigate unresolved areas selectively

If Surveying is required, the investigation objective, area and necessary depth are defined. Installed structures, terrain or metal interference may influence method selection. Sections that cannot be assessed must remain identifiable in the results. They must not be obscured by a summary statement about the whole project.

Coordinate preparation and construction

Even clearing an area may alter the ground. Where required, a Clearance plan therefore considers the sequence of works and their respective prerequisites. Excavation with visual observation alone does not replace a proper specialist explosive ordnance investigation. Whether explosive ordnance clearance during construction is suitable must be clarified for the task.

Next steps

A clear commission starts with the outstanding question

01

Briefly explain the existing status

Explain which assessment is already available and which part of the project still requires a decision. A specific question, for example about an additional access road, makes the initial review easier. A blanket enquiry for the whole property may instead mix areas already resolved with those still outstanding. The first contact records the location, groundworks and decision needed. The document review examines existing reports with their maps, spatial references and missing supporting information.

02

Agree further steps before construction

On the basis of available findings, agree which measures are required and who will undertake them. These may include further reconnaissance or technical investigation of specific areas. Any applicable official requirements remain part of this coordination. The responsible state bodies make the official decisions. Where supporting information is missing, historical research and aerial photograph analysis are carried out. Method selection considers their results, target objects, the volume of ground, interference and accessibility of the proposed areas.

03

Hand the report to site management

Site management needs the results with the associated plans. These must show which areas and ground disturbance the conclusions cover and what limitations apply. A single sentence from a summary is often insufficient. Outstanding areas should be clarified before the works planned there begin. The agreed surveying or suitable monitoring addresses the defined areas. Analysis assesses findings together with measurement limitations and relates them to the planned ground disturbance.

For tendering, research, technical investigation, analysis and documentation are described as defined services. All participants receive the same location and depth information, along with known sources of interference and access requirements. Agree handover by construction section if the works take place at different times. The survey report records the methods used, areas addressed and findings. A clearance record documents clearance work actually carried out. Both documents remain available in the project file with the associated commission and plan revision, even if the designer or contractor changes. The Clearance documentation records the documented area, depth and scope of work.

04

Check design changes before disturbing the ground

A relocated connection route may lie outside the previous investigation boundary. Have the changed design compared with the results before work takes place there. This does not automatically mean that everything must be investigated again. What matters is whether the existing conclusion still covers the changed ground disturbance. The report and plan appendices document the scope carried out. The decision on subsequent steps determines further investigations or coordination for outstanding areas; those responsible receive the relevant results.

Documentation

Responsibilities and specialist services for your project

Findings and their scope

The explosive ordnance disposal service at the Stuttgart regional authority is responsible statewide. It analyses historical aerial photographs and undertakes advice, searching and recovery within its capacity, with costs reimbursed. If it cannot undertake this work, private specialist contractors must be commissioned. Rendering ordnance safe is a duty of the state service.

Project responsibilities

You can agree the specialist services needed for your construction project with FONTANA-EOD. The starting point is the available findings and proposed groundworks. The BFR KMR may be used for specialist planning; outside their federal scope, they provide guidance rather than a blanket local legal requirement.

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 a favourable conclusion together with its limits

A report may identify no need for further measures in the area investigated. Read this conclusion in full and in its original context. It does not automatically lead to an additional investigation. Nor is the result extended to other areas or changed ground disturbance without specialist comparison.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

Use neighbouring plans as a research lead

A note from neighbouring planning documents may help target the search for further information. It does not replace precise matching to your own project. Keep the complete text with its date and plan title. The specialist assessment considers both existing favourable results and outstanding questions. Contaminated land findings and explosive ordnance assessments answer different questions. Each is assessed within its own discipline, and their results are brought together for the construction sequence.

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 explosive ordnance investigation in Schwäbisch Gmünd

Does the Aspen draft require further surveying everywhere?

No. Section 5.5 describes an aerial photograph assessment for its investigation area that found no indications of unexploded bombs and provides for no additional measures. This conclusion must be related to its spatial and technical scope.

Does the Aspen conclusion also apply to the Gügling connection?

This cannot be inferred from proximity alone. The road plan has its own defined area and contains a different note. For your project, the areas affected must be assigned to the respective documents.

What should I submit for an additional access road?

A current site plan showing the access road, proposed groundworks there and planned depths. Add existing explosive ordnance reports, including their maps, so that the additional area can be compared by specialists. Clarify the investigation needs before the groundworks affected. For preliminary investigation by the KMBD, the application and site plan are submitted in accordance with its documentation. Depending on the commission, the document review is followed by further historical assessment, method selection, investigation or suitable monitoring, then assessment and documentation.

Must an existing assessment be replaced whenever anything changes?

No. First check whether its investigation area and conclusions still cover the changed design. Only then can it be determined whether further information or supplementary investigations are needed.

What should I do if a suspicious object is found?

Stop work. Do not touch or move the object, and keep others away. From a safe distance, call the police on 110 and follow their instructions.

How is an area that cannot be assessed treated in the results?

Its location and respective limitation must remain identifiable. A summary statement for the project must not obscure this outstanding area. Specialists determine the additional steps required on the basis of the specific investigation task.

Do preparatory groundworks already belong in sequence planning?

Yes. Even clearing an area may alter the ground and must be considered in the sequence. Where a clearance plan is required, it relates these works to their prerequisites. Preparation must not assume that only the later new building is relevant to explosive ordnance.

What determines the cost of an investigation?

The research needed, area and depth, accessibility and interference determine the work required. This also includes the agreed analysis, documentation and any further investigation of findings. Complete existing reports help define what additional work is needed. KMBD services and charges are considered separately from private specialist commissions.

Project enquiry

Prepare the first technical discussion

Identify areas clearly

Send existing assessments with plan boundaries and a current drawing of the proposed ground disturbance. Add the project address, cadastral plots, conditions, utility and as-built plans, and complete aerial photograph assessments and specialist reports. Identify document revisions and any appendices still missing.

Add further ground disturbance

Mark access roads, connections and preparatory works with their depths. Identify the construction area, routes, boreholes, depths of ground disturbance and planned construction dates. Explain the current project status, the works due first and the decision needed. Where several parties are responsible, provide contacts for design, construction and obtaining documents.

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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