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 Villingen-Schwenningen

An explosive ordnance reference near your construction project needs a precise location. FONTANA-EOD helps project owners, designers and site managers in Villingen-Schwenningen align the agreed investigations with their own construction area and forthcoming groundworks. Send the complete reference, existing reports and current ground disturbance plan showing depths and construction sections.

Site plan

Match references to construction boundaries.

Preliminary investigation

Review the existing conclusions.

Earthworks

Define necessary measures beforehand.

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

What does a reference from a neighbouring area mean for your project?

For an explosive ordnance investigation before construction in Villingen-Schwenningen, historical information and existing investigation results are compared with your own construction area. Their respective source context, planned ground disturbance and the investigation scope actually documented are decisive. Outstanding questions are addressed through further research and suitable technical investigations; their results determine subsequent specialist steps.

Project site

Connect the site with the specific construction task

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

Read the Welvert text in its original context

The text of 19 November 2007 names bombed areas near the former Lyautey barracks. It describes a specific context for the planning case at the time. For your property, the appropriate historical location and present-day ground disturbance are reviewed. The current municipal service page refers to the Stuttgart regional authority for the statewide explosive ordnance task. Villingen-Schwenningen is a major district town in the Schwarzwald-Baar district, Freiburg administrative district, in Baden-Württemberg. The official register of municipalities assigns the town to these administrative levels. Provide the precise project address and affected cadastral plots; where an old area name is used, add the current site plan. For a location in another municipality, its local contacts are identified. The KMBD at the Stuttgart regional authority performs the state's explosive ordnance duties statewide. Further locations are listed in the regional overview.

Baden-Württemberg
Local context

Barracks sites and information from neighbouring areas

Locate the historical Welvert reference spatially

The text for the Kasernenareal – Welvert development plan of 19 November 2007 names bombed areas with suspected explosive ordnance sites nearby, at the former Lyautey barracks. For the planning area at the time, it refers to safety measures for civil engineering works. The reference is assessed in its original spatial context and within the limits of the underlying findings. For a present-day project, the investigation status of your own area and planned groundworks are assessed.

During the Second World War, the Wehrmacht decided in early 1940 to establish a prisoner-of-war camp for enlisted personnel in Villingen. The municipal chronology of Stalag V B describes its original location between the old Richthofen barracks, later named Lyautey, the SABA works and Richthofenstraße. From around April 1943, the chronology records an extension into the Oberer Brühl area. For research concerning a construction area, historical location details are brought together with the relevant records, maps and present-day property boundaries.

Define your own project completely

The precise location and complete investigation results are therefore decisive for your project. A similar street name or proximity to former barracks is neither confirmation of contamination nor an all-clear. Provide existing information together with a current construction plan. Specialists can then clarify what is already answered for the planned ground disturbance and where further investigation is needed.

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.

For preliminary investigation by the KMBD, the construction project and precisely defined investigation area are specified. The private specialist commission identifies the investigations required and agreed results documents. Local contacts and, where applicable, operators contribute the documents and access required for their areas. For the construction sequence, contacts, outstanding tasks and decisions needed are identified. Official requirements and technical results reports are kept in the project file with their respective purposes. When the design changes, the same new version is sent to those responsible.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

Have the findings for your own site assessed by specialists

Investigating your own project starts with existing sources and reports. A reference from a neighbouring area may prompt closer assessment. It does not alone determine the appropriate technical method. This follows the outstanding questions, planned ground disturbance and actual conditions in the affected area.

Assess methods for your own construction area

Observe investigation limitations in the subsequent sequence

Installed structures or restricted access may limit individual areas. The scope reached is therefore documented traceably. Specialists determine further steps for outstanding areas. The construction sequence considers these prerequisites rather than treating a neighbouring area already addressed as a substitute for the conclusion still missing.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Connect neighbouring information, your own area and the next works

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

Trace the origin of the reference

Send the complete text with the plan title, date and associated appendices. Historical names may refer to larger or differently defined areas than current addresses. Specialist assessment clarifies this relationship. Information about a neighbouring area is thus considered without equating it, without review, to an investigation of your own property.

Arrange specialist assessment of historical evidence
Two people with a tablet beside a marked construction area; plans lie in the foreground.

Include all proposed groundworks

Besides the building footprint, show utility connections, access roads involving ground disturbance and additional working pits. Add the planned depths and construction sequence. These details help define the investigation scope needed. Restricting the description to the building could omit preparatory or adjoining works.

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

Hand over results and further tasks clearly

For each area addressed, pass on the associated report with its plan reference. Outstanding areas remain identifiable. The next works are compared with the stage actually reached. A result for one construction section does not extend to another simply because both belong to 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

Record which works have been technically clarified and which prerequisites remain outstanding. If an area will be only partly accessible, this must be considered when commissioning. Handover and assessment of results also need time in the construction sequence. Dates and the work involved are agreed after clarifying the scope, access and necessary prerequisites. State when the decision is needed.

Discuss the scope and schedule
Tasks at the site

What is needed for comparison with your property

01

Pass on the reference with its origin

If a planning document contains an explosive ordnance reference, send the complete text and associated map. The date, area name and reference to a report help assessment. A copied warning line without context leaves unclear whether it concerns your property, a neighbouring site or only a particular construction section.

Also describe the decision the investigation is to prepare. A new excavation may require a different volume of ground from individual boreholes or a connection route. A borehole clearance record is identified with its location, depth range and documented scope of services. Any necessary deep surveying or area clearance follows the specialist task. In the enquiry, identify existing documents separately from supporting information still to be obtained. The specialist commission can then describe the investigations needed and required results handover specifically.

02

Mark the area needed clearly

For aerial photograph analysis by the KMBD, the municipal service page requires a site plan with a precisely defined investigation area. Mark the area needed so that it can be identified on the plan without a query. The specialist planner can then assess whether the question also requires considering adjacent areas.

03

Include ground disturbance outside the building

A building outline does not show all works. New connections, drainage installations or a crane foundation may affect other areas. State where ground will be disturbed and to what depth. These details allow comparison with existing results without assuming that the whole property has been investigated.

04

Match old and new area names

Property boundaries may have changed since an older investigation. Establish a traceable relationship between the investigation plan at the time and today's construction area. Unclear assignments should be clarified before construction. The same address alone does not prove that an earlier report covers all works now proposed.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Connect historical and present-day names

If older documents use a barracks or area name, add the current property name and a site plan. Unclear spatial assignments are identified as outstanding questions. Research can then be targeted. A similar name or assumed proximity is insufficient for adopting an old conclusion.

Include connections beyond the property boundary

Utility works may extend from the main construction area into other areas. Describe the proposed route and ground disturbance there. Existing results are checked against this scope. Those involved agree which documents and access options are needed and how preliminary investigation fits into the construction sequence. For clearance work carried out earlier, the associated clearance record must also be assessed: it documents areas addressed, methods, findings and outstanding tasks along the actual working space.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Draw the full scope before making the enquiry

Send a legible site plan showing the building, connections and other groundworks. Include complete historical information and investigations already available. The specialist review can then consider both the origin of the information and current needs. Additional documents are identified specifically for the questions still outstanding.

Coordinate the construction phase with us

Compare the status before each further section

Check whether existing results cover the next construction section. Relocated connections or added working pits are considered explicitly. Reports and plan versions remain together. Site management receives conclusions with their respective scopes so that a completed area is not confused with the whole project.

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

Derive the investigation from the specific need

Have historical information assessed by specialists

The Historical aerial photograph analysis may provide indications of possible explosive ordnance contamination. It considers available photographs and supplementary findings. A planning reference from a neighbouring area is among the information requiring assessment. Whether it leads to further measures for your construction area depends on the assessment and proposed ground disturbance.

A historical assessment connects the imagery dates and supplementary sources used with the investigation area. Markings in later planning documents are traced back to their original basis. It matters whether a report describes a specific finding, a suspected area or a research question still outstanding. For your own construction area, existing assessment boundaries, historical building positions and documented ground changes are considered. If an area suspected of containing explosive ordnance in Villingen-Schwenningen is to be examined, the commission identifies the question actually outstanding. Further investigation follows this technically defined need and the planned ground disturbance.

Define the on-site measurement task

If a technical investigation is required, the Surveying must suit the investigation objective. Known foundations, utilities or other installations may affect measurement conditions. Communicate such obstacles early. Areas that cannot be assessed must remain identifiable in the later results; they must not be treated as resolved solely because they lie within the construction area.

Known utilities, foundations, metal installations and earlier excavations are added to the plan before method selection. Measurement planning considers target objects, the soil profile, necessary depth range and accessibility together. A single method may have different limits of interpretation in different areas. Where interpretation is restricted, the supplementary work capable of achieving the required investigation objective is defined. The investigation report identifies the area actually addressed and remaining outstanding areas. Measurement data and specialist assessment of findings are documented together with the method that produced them. The Surveying is matched to this investigation objective.

Include preparatory works

Creating access or removing an old ground slab may also affect the ground. A Clearance plan should consider the sequence needed and suitable measures. Visual observation during excavation alone does not replace a proper specialist investigation. Explosive ordnance clearance during construction is useful only where its suitability for the specific task has been established by specialists.

For proposed monitoring, the work stages required and cooperation with construction trades are defined. These include the location of working areas, possible interruptions and handover of findings. Excavation monitoring or explosive ordnance clearance during construction receives a defined specialist commission and a justified investigation sequence. For an actual find, the police are notified; they arrange the next steps. Site management receives the results documents and prerequisites relevant to its section. Any necessary Ordnance recovery is coordinated with its scope of work, required work stages and respective responsibility.

Next steps

From the first enquiry to construction

01

Assemble existing findings in full

Start with the current site plan and existing explosive ordnance documents. Add references to earlier works where documented. A site already built on is not thereby automatically assessed for new, deeper ground disturbance. The areas actually investigated and the conclusions of the respective reports remain decisive. The initial contact records the project location, groundworks and decision needed. The document review connects existing information and reports with their respective areas and identifies missing supporting information.

Present-day cadastral plots, identifiable reference points and earlier investigation boundaries are used to establish location. Also check the elevation reference: a depth measured from a former ground level must be relatable to subsequent filling or excavation. Relocated connecting utilities may affect an additional volume of ground laterally even if the planned depth barely changes. Mark the new areas on the same plan revision. The specialist planner can then assign existing results to the new needs and justify any supplementary scope required.

02

Clarify outstanding questions before commissioning

The specialist planner should be able to identify whether a preliminary investigation is initially missing or a specific technical investigation need has already been described. This determines the appropriate commission. Choosing a measurement method prematurely may overlook important prerequisites or specify services whose need is not yet established. 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, sources of interference and accessibility of the proposed areas.

For the specification, research, investigation, analysis and documentation are described as defined tasks. All bidders receive the same plans, depths and known conditions. Identify usable access and timing dependencies, for example on utility works or demolition of existing structural elements. For phased work, the results needed for each section are recorded. It is also agreed which supporting information the clients provide and which services remain to be carried out. An adjusted construction area is included in the commission and investigation preparation before construction.

03

Connect results with the construction plan

Hand the report, including associated plans, to site management. The area, depth investigated and limitations must be relatable to the proposed work. A brief note without appendices cannot replace this connection. Also record which outstanding areas still need clarification before further ground disturbance. The agreed surveying or suitable monitoring addresses the defined areas. Analysis assesses findings together with their measurement limitations and assigns them to the planned ground disturbance.

The report identifies the area investigated, method used and conclusion reached for the proposed works. Areas that cannot be worked on or assessed are identified with their locations and further needs. The report and associated plan version remain together in the project file. A clearance record documents clearance work actually carried out and its scope. These details are passed on if the designer or construction contractor changes. For the next section, the new design is compared with the documented status. The Clearance documentation records the documented area, depth and scope of work.

04

Report new areas before construction

If a connection is relocated or the excavation extended, pass on the changed plan in good time. The previous investigation may remain usable, but its scope must match the new ground disturbance. Only this comparison establishes whether a supplementary assessment or further investigation is needed. The report and location 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

Specialist commissions and responsibilities in Baden-Württemberg

Findings and their scope

For preliminary explosive ordnance investigation, Villingen-Schwenningen refers to the explosive ordnance disposal service at the Stuttgart regional authority. It is responsible for the entire state. It undertakes advice, searching and recovery within its capacity, with costs reimbursed. Where it cannot undertake this work, private specialist contractors must be commissioned; rendering ordnance safe remains the service's duty.

Project responsibilities

FONTANA-EOD can agree the specialist services with you for the specific construction project. This requires local information and the groundworks design. The responsible state bodies make official decisions. Outside their federal scope, the BFR KMR provide technical guidance.

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

Proximity provides a research lead

A neighbouring suspected area provides information requiring specialist assessment. Location, available sources and investigation scope remain decisive. Your own assessment also considers results already available for the property. Proximity alone determines neither a particular method nor a conclusion about the whole town.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

Describe a new use completely

If an area is to be used differently in future, new groundworks may be added. These include connections or smaller foundations outside a building. Describe this ground disturbance with locations and depths. The specialist review compares actual needs with existing documents and defines possible additions. During phased construction, results are handed over for the respective section with the plan version, investigation boundaries and outstanding tasks.

For a later design change, it must remain clear which earlier conclusion belonged to which commission. An old reference and a later technical investigation may consider the same area with different questions. Bring the relevant documents together with dates, purposes and spatial references. A summary for site management identifies usable results and outstanding tasks. New ground disturbance is compared with the respective investigation boundaries so that supplementary work can be prepared where actually needed.

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 information in Villingen-Schwenningen

Does the Welvert reference concern the whole town?

No. The text describes the situation at the time in the planning area and its neighbourhood. For another property, its own information, investigations and proposed groundworks must be assessed.

What does suspicion on a neighbouring site mean for my excavation?

It provides information for specialist assessment. Its spatial reference and the findings available for your own construction area are decisive. It establishes neither contamination nor an all-clear automatically.

Which plan is required for aerial photograph analysis?

The municipal service page specifies a site plan with a clearly and precisely defined investigation area. For preparation, add planned groundworks and any existing reports with appendices. For preliminary investigation by the KMBD, the application and plan are submitted in accordance with its documentation. Clarify the needs before the groundworks affected. Depending on the commission, the document review is followed by further research or technical investigation; results are assessed and documented.

Must a new building connection also be included?

Yes, if it involves ground disturbance. Its location and depth must be compared with existing results. A report for the building footprint does not automatically cover the connection route.

What should be done if a suspicious object appears during works?

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.

Why are historical area names helpful in the enquiry?

They make it easier to identify older documents. Always add the current property name and a clear site plan.

Which local conditions affect the technical investigation?

Installed structures and available access are considered together with the specific investigation task. They may limit the work and conclusions achievable. Such limitations must remain identifiable in the results with their spatial references; specialists determine further needs for outstanding areas.

What determines the cost of an investigation?

The research needed, investigation areas and depths, accessibility and interference affect the work required. This also includes the agreed analysis, documentation and any further investigation of findings. For phased work, the required work stages are described in the commission. Complete existing reports help define supplementary needs. KMBD services and charges are considered separately from private specialist commissions.

Project enquiry

Prepare the first technical discussion

Locate information spatially

Include historical names, complete texts and current property details.

Plan connections too

Show utility routes and other groundworks outside the building.

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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