Technical map view of the Tübingen administrative district showing Tübingen as a location for explosive ordnance assessment and surveying by FONTANA-EOD

Explosive ordnance surveying in Tübingen

For project owners, designers and site managers in Tübingen, FONTANA-EOD clarifies how an existing explosive ordnance report relates to the current construction task. Even a result with no indications of an increased likelihood of explosive ordnance is assigned to the area investigated, the project at the time and the documented limitations. Send the complete report with appendices and a current plan of the proposed groundworks.

Report

Include the complete appendices.

Applicability

Compare the area and construction project.

Changes

Clarify additional work needed before earthworks.

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

How can an existing report continue to be used in Tübingen?

The complete report is compared with the current design: the area investigated, the project at the time and the limits of its conclusions must be identifiable. New ground disturbance or changed conditions are assessed separately. A specialist review shows which existing conclusions still apply and whether supplementary work is required.

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 Tübingen planning case as a limited conclusion

The planning assessment of 2 June 2025 for Sieben-Höfe-Straße and Weinbergstraße summarises a preliminary investigation. Its conclusion is tied to the area shown and the project described. Your current design accordingly requires your own complete documents. The town offers access to development plans and their explanatory statements as a starting point for research.

Tübingen is a major district town in the Tübingen district and belongs to the Tübingen administrative district in Baden-Württemberg. The explosive ordnance disposal service responsible statewide is based at the Stuttgart regional authority. The project enquiry identifies the actual address, cadastral district, property and construction section. For a project in another municipality, local responsibility follows that location. State whether the documents address the whole present-day construction area or only an earlier part of it. The specialist planner assigns existing conclusions to the works now proposed.

Baden-Württemberg
Local context

Tübingen's wartime history and existing preliminary investigation

Railway land and aerial warfare

The article published by the Town Museum about Tübingen freight station by Udo Rauch describes the railway site as a target of Allied bombing during the Second World War. It shows damaged tracks and explains that the goods shed itself was spared. An American reconnaissance photograph shown there is dated 18 April 1945. For current planning, such a historical finding is connected to the precise location of the construction area and the uses documented there. On former railway, storage or transport sites, earlier construction conditions and later ground changes are compared using available plans and records. Filled ground, covered structural remains and diverted utilities are considered where evidenced for the area concerned. This identifies spatially defined questions for any research and investigation planning required.

Assign the result to the investigation area at the time

The Tübingen planning assessment for the development plan Zwischen Sieben-Höfe-Straße und Weinbergstraße, dated 2 June 2025, summarises an existing report. According to it, the preliminary investigation found no indications of an increased likelihood of remaining explosive ordnance in the investigation area. The summary limits this conclusion to the area shown and the period of the construction project described. It expressly gives no guarantee of absolute absence of explosive ordnance.

Compare the current design with existing conclusions

For new planning, the complete report therefore matters more than an isolated result sentence. Do the property, working areas and proposed ground disturbance still coincide? Have new findings emerged? FONTANA-EOD can help you clarify outstanding technical questions using the existing documents. An older report is neither automatically unusable nor transferable to every later project without review.

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?

Define outstanding needs before choosing a method

First check which explosive ordnance question existing documents already answer. Then identify the questions remaining for the current design. Only this determines whether and what further investigation is needed. A document's age alone determines neither a particular measurement method nor a blanket repetition of all work.

Select further investigations according to outstanding needs

Have additional areas assessed by specialists

A new trench or relocated borehole may lie outside the area considered so far. Mark this difference with its ground disturbance details. Further work depends on the findings available there and local conditions. A favourable conclusion for the old investigation area is not transferred to the extension without review.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Check existing results against the current design

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

Assemble the complete investigation record

A summary in a planning document may point to an earlier report. The report and its appendices are needed for the specific comparison. Keep the commission, date and investigation area shown together. This makes it traceable which question was addressed at the time and what information the result is based on.

Arrange specialist assessment of historical evidence
Illustration: two people review plans and documents at a table beside a construction vehicle.

Show differences from the current construction task

Mark the current excavation, utility trenches and other ground disturbance on the site plan. Add the proposed depths and compare the scope with the old documents. An unchanged property address does not necessarily mean an unchanged project. Changes are therefore assessed by specialists before further investigation needs are defined.

Document findings and their limitations
Illustration: two people review plans and documents at a table beside a construction vehicle.

Document further use traceably

Record which conclusions are used for the forthcoming work stage and what additions are made. The report's original limitations are retained. New results receive their own area and design references. Later participants can then identify how the individual documents form the current state of knowledge.

Document findings and their limitations
Preparation

Prepare the scope and commission together

Establish what needs to be known before commissioning the work

The commission must first clarify which decision is to be prepared. Is the task an initial review of existing documents, investigation of a particular area, or work on a finding already assessed? These tasks require different supporting information. A general wish for safety does not yet define an executable investigation scope. The enquiry therefore identifies the ground disturbance, location, depth and knowledge available. Suitable specialist work and required results documents are agreed on that basis. This comparison also includes preparatory groundworks. Mark utility connections, shoring points, working pits and temporary access roads where planned for the project. An earlier investigation is compared with these works using its location and depth information. Available supporting information is considered separately for areas outside it. The commission can then address the specific technical question still outstanding.

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.

Identify which areas were assessed historically and which, where applicable, were technically investigated. Aerial photograph analysis and on-site measurement answer different questions and are therefore described with their respective commissions. The specialist planner can build on this stage of work. For an additional investigation, the working area, depth and preparation required are defined together. The quotation identifies the associated scope of services and results documents. Site management then considers execution, analysis and handover when preparing the next section.

Discuss the scope and schedule
Tasks at the site

Compare the existing report with the current project

01

Obtain the complete report

Provide site plans, appendices and any supplementary statements as well as the covering letter. A summary in a planning document may abridge the original report. Further use requires clarity about what was actually investigated and assessed. If appendices are missing, this should be clarified before a decision.

02

Locate the area on the current plan

Check whether the investigation boundary matches the current property and construction area. New plot numbers or changed boundaries may make matching difficult. The same address is insufficient. Mark areas outside the scope considered at the time so that the specialist assessment does not inadvertently treat them as already covered.

03

Describe the planned ground disturbance precisely

The report should identify the construction project for which it was prepared. Add the groundworks now planned to your enquiry with their locations and depths. A new utility connection or deeper foundation may create a different need for assessment. This comparison determines whether existing results are sufficient.

04

Assign planning documents through the town

Tübingen offers access to development plans and their explanatory statements. The plan number or precise property details help locate the correct document. Then check which appendices belong to the specific project. A conclusion from another planning area cannot be transferred to your own property, even where the buildings are similar.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Consult planning documents selectively

Cadastral district and property details help locate the appropriate Tübingen planning documents. A development plan and its explanatory statement may contain important references to further reports. Check which appendices are actually available. Missing documents are requested specifically; a brief reference in a planning assessment does not replace the complete investigation report. Keep the planning document's revision date and the actual report's date separate. To identify the documents, record the plan number, report title, commission and appendix title together. The specialist planner can then refer to the specific source when making a query. Using the associated map, the investigation boundary is compared with today's construction area. Plot divisions or changed names are explained in this comparison. The original map remains available in the project file together with the current comparison version.

Keep versions and later changes together

Retain earlier and current plan versions with their dates. Show what has changed in the location, scope or depth of groundworks. The specialist planner can check these differences specifically. A new drawing is not thereby silently added to an older report's investigation scope. The results file brings together the original investigation scope and additions reviewed by specialists in a traceable way. The report and plan appendices document methods, areas or points addressed, depths, assessment and limits of conclusions. For commissioned clearance works, the clearance record with associated location and results information forms part of the evidence file. Site management receives the current version and associated appendices. A subsequent contractor can identify which documents apply to its work section. Further differences are communicated for specialist coordination before the groundworks concerned.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Start with complete earlier documents

Send reports, appendices and later supplements together with the current design. Identify the next proposed ground disturbance and clear changes from the project at the time. The comparison can then address specific differences. Missing conclusions and documents still needed are recorded as separate tasks. Identify the next project decision needed, for example the investigation scope for an excavation, individual borehole starting points or a utility section. Explain which older and current plans have already been brought onto the same location and elevation reference. Mark differences clearly on the plan. For an additional commission, describe the areas affected, conclusion sought and results documents required. The specialist contractor agrees the scope of services with you on the basis of these documents.

Coordinate the construction phase with us

Pass on the reviewed status before construction

Site management needs the report, associated plan version and any supplementary results. Describe which works these cover and which questions remain outstanding. Further changes must be compared again before implementation. A report handed over does not extend its scope through subsequent use on site. Before the contractor changes, the relevant reports and plans are assigned to the working area actually taken over. Identify the contact for technical queries and outstanding tasks. The subsequent contractor receives the same current version that site management has for its preparation.

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

Plan additions according to actual needs

Check the preliminary investigation status

For its preliminary explosive ordnance investigation and aerial photograph analysis, the Baden-Württemberg KMBD specifies a connection to the construction project applied for. If construction is delayed, it recommends updating its assessment after three years at the latest. Its reasons include new find information and expanded historical sources. This guidance concerns KMBD assessments; the respective applicability of other reports must be clarified.

Separate new questions from completed tasks

The Historical aerial photograph analysis, a technical investigation and documentation of work carried out provide different types of supporting information. Record which are already available. If supplementary work is needed, its objective should be defined specifically. The age of an individual document does not itself require a blanket repetition of every earlier investigation.

Do not extend a measurement's conclusions

The Surveying provides results under specific local conditions. Interference and areas that cannot be assessed must remain identifiable. A later design change does not remove these limitations. Whether further investigation or properly planned explosive ordnance clearance during construction is necessary and suitable requires justification. Visual observation during excavation alone is no substitute.

Next steps

From the existing report to the next construction phase

01

Identify the report and construction plan precisely

Record the date and title of the documents underlying the decision. Where several versions exist, the applicable one must be identifiable. Simply filing different PDFs without assigning them may lead site management to use an outdated plan or a report for another section later. For the first project discussion, provide the address, construction phase and forthcoming groundworks. The specialist planner checks existing explosive ordnance information and reports for plan revision, area and depth coverage, and outstanding questions about the current task. Complete appendices are included in the comparison. This establishes which conclusions can still be used and what supporting information is missing for the next ground disturbance.

02

Report changes before the next ground disturbance

If the site is extended or the foundation design changes, send the new design for specialist review. Describe the difference as specifically as possible. This allows assessment of whether the existing report covers it. Until clarified, a question previously unanswered must not simply be assumed resolved.

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

Include required measures in the commission

If the review identifies additional measures, their scope and expected documentation should match the planned ground disturbance. A Clearance plan may bring the necessary steps and their prerequisites together. Existing results must be considered with their limitations so that outstanding areas are neither overlooked nor services repeated without reason.

05

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.

06

Pass the decision to site management

Hand over the applicable report together with the plan and any supplementary assessment. Limitations and work still outstanding must also be identifiable. The next construction section should be clearly related to the results used for it. A general clearance note without spatial reference does not help. The 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 any necessary additions before construction.

Documentation

Who undertakes further clarification

Findings and their scope

In Baden-Württemberg, the explosive ordnance disposal service is based at the Stuttgart regional authority. Its duties include rendering ordnance safe, transporting recovered ordnance and destruction. Property owners must arrange searching and recovery themselves. Where the service does not undertake this work within its capacity, private explosive ordnance clearance contractors must be commissioned.

Project responsibilities

FONTANA-EOD agrees the specialist services with you on the basis of existing reports and the specific construction design. Official duties remain separate. For projects outside their federal scope, the BFR KMR provide technical guidance; requirements for the individual project must be considered separately.

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

Read a summary together with its limitations

A brief result statement may be misleading without the limitations that follow. Read the information about the investigation area and underlying construction task as well. The appendices are also needed for practical comparison. The specialist assessment considers the whole report rather than just a favourable-sounding extract.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

Distinguish updating from further investigation

Updating documents and a technical investigation on site serve different purposes. The additions needed are determined from the existing state of knowledge and current design. Recommendations from a particular body are assigned to its respective procedure. They do not create a general process rule for every other report.

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 existing explosive ordnance reports

Does a result finding no indications mean a guarantee?

No. The conclusion and limitations of the respective report are decisive. The Tübingen summary of 2025 expressly excludes a guarantee of absolute absence of explosive ordnance and limits the result to the area and project considered.

Can I also use a report for the neighbouring property?

It may provide information for specialist assessment but does not automatically cover your property. The actual investigation area and the task for which the report was prepared are decisive.

When should a KMBD aerial photograph assessment be updated?

If construction is delayed, the Baden-Württemberg KMBD recommends updating its assessment after three years at the latest. If the design changes or new findings emerge, specialists must also review the specific clarification needed.

Does a design change always require a new survey?

No, there is no blanket answer. First check whether existing results cover the changed areas and ground disturbance. Only this determines any supplementary work needed.

What applies if a suspicious object is found despite an existing report?

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

Is a report extract in a planning assessment sufficient for comparing plans?

It may help with the initial review. The complete report and relevant appendices are needed for the specific comparison.

Should an unchanged address still be checked against a new plan?

Yes. Areas, depths or other groundworks may have changed despite the same property address.

Which documents and cost factors matter for the next construction phase?

The associated plan version, relevant appendices, supplementary results and a traceable description of outstanding tasks. The work required depends on the remaining investigation scope, area size or number of points, depth, documents available, access, interference and proposed methods. Necessary preparatory works and results documents needed are also agreed. Scheduling identifies the next construction task to be prepared and any prerequisites still outstanding.

Project enquiry

Prepare the first technical discussion

Connect earlier and new documents

Send complete reports and the current plan version together. Would you like to use an existing explosive ordnance report for a project in Tübingen? Send us the complete report with appendices and the current construction design. We will clarify with you the information and possible additions needed for the specialist commission.

Mark changes

Identify new areas, different depths and the next work stage explicitly. Also state which earthworks are to begin first and which areas are not yet accessible. 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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