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

Explosive ordnance surveying in Gießen

Do you have information about a utility route or excavation in Gießen whose significance is still unclear? FONTANA-EOD helps bring historical information, technical investigation and the proposed groundworks together. The commission should clearly state which question must be answered and how the results will reach site management.

Indications

Identify the source and statement precisely.

Assessment

Record the actual scope.

Result

Assign the area assessed.

Discuss the project's technical requirementsExplosive ordnance assessment in Hesse
Assess the construction project

State the findings available for the next groundworks clearly

For your Gießen project, we assign indications, preliminary findings and completed investigation results to their actual scope. The proposed groundworks are compared with the evidence available for them. Unresolved questions remain clear so that further execution can be prepared on a traceable technical basis.

Project references

Selected project examples

Project site

Connect the site with the specific construction task

Schematic map with a coat of arms, alongside a tablet, safety helmet, notebook and pen.

Identify the project location and area assessed

On 15 October 2026, the City of Gießen first reported a preliminary position and later completion of the investigations at the tested locations on Frankfurter Straße. Your own report is read with the same precision: the date, area covered and outstanding tasks determine which conclusion can be used for further planning. Gießen is a city with special status within Gießen district in Hesse and lies in the Gießen administrative district. For the enquiry, the project address is connected to the route, excavation and additional interventions on the current plan. Projects in areas formerly used commercially or by the military, such as a documented redevelopment site, include the existing use and construction records. Other municipalities have their own local responsibilities and the investigation volume commissioned for each project.

Hesse
Local context

Gießen’s wartime history and dated investigation results

Connect historical uses with the current groundworks

The heavy air raids on Gießen in 1944 and subsequent reconstruction are recorded in the city’s chronicle. For 1950 to 1969, it records development of new residential areas and construction of new industrial facilities. It also describes the former Steuben barracks as the location of an initial commercial development in the Europaviertel in 1996. For present-day groundworks, these histories of use are brought together with existing files, wartime aerial photographs, technical evaluations and the current site plan. Documented construction or ground alterations are considered with their spatial reference. Historical information about the city is thereby turned into a focused investigation question for the construction area; assessment of an individual suspected point depends on technical evaluation of the associated information and investigations.

Read Gießen’s reports in chronological order

In the completed live updates for Frankfurter Straße, the City of Gießen initially reported metal remains and further investigations still outstanding on 15 October 2026. At 16:05, it reported that no bomb or anomalies indicating one had been found at the tested locations. The investigation arose from a district heating construction site. The report describes only that investigation at that time on Frankfurter Straße.

Describe your own investigation progress clearly

Similar precision is helpful for your own site: a suspicion, an anomaly in survey data and a confirmed find describe different states of knowledge. A preliminary finding also differs from completion of an agreed investigation. Have the basis of a statement and the technical clarification still required explained before using it as the basis for the next work step.

Working together

Distinguish the tasks of client, designers and specialist contractor

Client and operator

The project owner describes the project and provides existing project documents. The operator adds requirements for use, access and timing. A coordinating contact agrees the tasks assigned to them with those responsible. Before commissioning, the missing information, who obtains it and the decision the result is intended to prepare are recorded clearly.

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 contractor carries out the agreed investigation and documentation work. Official requirements and decisions are clarified with the responsible authorities. The documents required for a particular procedure depend on the location and project. The technical report describes the specialist work performed; its conclusions are not presented without review as general authorisation for further groundworks or as an official decision. The explosive ordnance clearance service at Darmstadt Regional Council, responsible for all of Hesse, explains the property-specific aerial photograph enquiry and notification of clearance work. It arranges removal and, where necessary, defusing and destruction of explosive ordnance. These state duties are considered in preparation and reporting procedures. Required notifications and handover of results are assigned to the specific activity and responsible parties.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

Define a technical task from the unresolved question

An anomaly is assessed against the available findings and site conditions. The suitability of any supplementary investigation is determined technically. The planned groundworks and conclusion needed remain decisive. A method is not selected solely from a brief description of the previous finding.

Compare suitable supplementary specialist services

Account for limits of interpretation in further commissions

If interpretation in an area was limited, document the restriction, its location and significance. Further work builds on this position. A supplementary service should address the specific unresolved question. It must neither assume an unsupported finding of no contamination nor be extended to other sections without justification.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Pass on findings without an abbreviated completion message

Illustration: two people with a tablet beside a drawing table and a survey trolley on a construction site.

Connect each indication to its source

Record where information comes from and which area it concerns. An official statement, survey anomaly and public news report describe different evidence. The first discussion needs this distinction. The investigation commission then follows from the specific unresolved question and proposed groundworks.

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

Communicate interim findings with their limits

If interpretation is continuing or further steps belong to the commission, make this status explicit. Identify the area already considered and tasks still outstanding. A brief message can support the workflow, but should not imply greater certainty or spatial coverage than is actually documented.

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

Hand over the completed scope transparently

After the agreed service is complete, the report and plans are provided together. The handover identifies the areas covered, results and remaining limits. Other parts of a larger project area may still contain outstanding tasks. The next groundworks are therefore compared with the specific results and their own intervention area.

Coordinate the sequence and tasks
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 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.

Discuss the scope and schedule
Tasks at the site

Define the unresolved question for your project

01

Describe the reason for the assessment

State whether an official statement, previous investigation or another traceable indication is available. Provide the document with its date and appendices. Where a suspicious object has actually been found, however, the immediate safe reporting procedure applies; an ordinary project enquiry does not replace notification of the responsible authorities in that situation. For the first discussion, identify the source, date, area and progress represented by the information. The project owner and designers state the specific decision needed before the next groundworks. The specialist contractor can then distinguish missing documents, ongoing interpretation and a new investigation step required.

02

Show the complete planned route

A utility construction project may include shafts, connections and excavations as well as the trench. Mark the groundworks actually planned with their positions and depths. Also check whether preparatory ground investigations affect a separate area. A line on an overview plan does not always explain which ground volumes execution will affect. State which sections need access or construction preparation before the utility installation itself. The position and depth of shafts, crossings, connections and other points are linked to the relevant construction phase. Execution can then be coordinated with the results available for these volumes and the outstanding tasks.

03

Identify existing installations

Utilities, reinforcement and other known installations may matter for survey planning and interpretation. Provide available as-built plans and identify uncertain information. This is not a recommendation to expose installations yourself as preparation. Preparatory groundworks must also be coordinated with existing findings and necessary protective measures. Information about existing structures is assigned to the planned surveying task. Unclear utility alignments, restricted access or changing conditions are communicated to the specialist contractor before deployment. Responsibility for required access and operational approvals remains with those responsible for them.

04

Agree the results needed

Is a particular section to be assessed for further planning, or a specific unresolved question answered? State the commission’s purpose. A targeted commission can be useful, but its limits must remain clear. Its results must not later be silently extended to additional sections, greater depths or a revised utility alignment. Agree the documents needed for subsequent design or construction: report, site plan, identification of the volumes covered, and information about limits of conclusions and outstanding tasks. For staged work, the results receive an unambiguous plan revision. Changes are compared with existing coverage before the work concerned.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Preserve the chronological sequence of clarification

File important interim messages and the final report with their dates and relationship to the task. Later assessment should show which statement was available at which time. The final report records the documented results. Earlier preliminary statements are not passed to new participants without their chronological context. For a utility site worked in stages, the position, depth and progress of each part are brought together transparently. The report assigns surveying conditions and assessed findings to the actual investigation volumes. Designers and site management can then establish which area was assessed for their specific subsequent question and which further decisions remain outstanding. Where clearance work has been commissioned, the clearance record with the associated location and results information forms part of the evidence file.

Clarify abbreviated statements before using them

If only a brief message is available, request the associated report and site plans. Until clarification, the scope actually described by the note remains unresolved. A general word such as “done” does not replace this information. Site management needs the specific basis for comparison with the next groundworks. For further use, hand the complete results file with its plan revision and appendices to the responsible project participants. When a contractor or construction phase changes, information about access, interference and untreated areas is retained. The supplementary technical work commissioned follows from the documented unresolved question and planned groundworks.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Collect the current records before supplementary work

Bring together existing official statements, interim messages and reports with their appendices. Identify which parts of the previous commission are still in progress. Show the new groundworks on the plan. This distinguishes further information expected from ongoing work from an additional technical commission needed. The project enquiry includes the address, current site plan, proposed depths and groundworks due first. Assign existing technical reports and official statements to the volumes concerned. The contacts clarify which appendices or information are missing and who will provide them. Work steps still in progress are linked to the intended handover point.

Coordinate the construction phase with us

Check the conclusions before the next construction phase

Compare the documented completion with the position and depth of the forthcoming work. Unresolved areas retain their own identification. When plans change, coverage receives another technical assessment. The handover thus connects the findings available with the actual next task, without extending them to the whole project. Scheduling accounts for access, necessary preparatory work, operational restrictions and the technical handover of results. Site management and the specialist contractor agree which sections are investigated first and how new conditions are communicated. For an additional connection or changed depth range, the evidence needed is clarified before the groundworks concerned.

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

From an indication to a technically assessed conclusion

Assign historical information to the site

The Aerial-photo analysis can provide indications of earlier wartime effects. The evaluation must be compared with the project site plan. A general local chronicle or news of a previous find in Gießen does not answer this question. Existing technical reports should be used in full; what matters is whether their reference area and conclusions match the new groundworks.

Read surveys with their limitations

For Surveying the surveying task, method and interpretability must be considered together. An anomaly needs technical interpretation; its presence alone does not identify a particular object. Equally, an area with limited interpretability must not support an unrestricted conclusion. The report should record these distinctions so that they are not lost during handover.

Agree further measures on a reasoned basis

If an investigation leaves questions unresolved, the next technical step must be determined. This may involve additional underlying information or an investigation planned differently. A Clearance plan can connect the measures required to the construction sequence. Visual observation during excavation alone is not an equivalent alternative to required professional explosive ordnance clearance alongside construction.

Next steps

Communicate interim findings clearly

01

Compare the project enquiry and documents

A statement should identify the section concerned. When passing it on internally, include the plan version and relevant part of the site. Phrases such as “everything done” may otherwise claim more than the underlying report. For a staged investigation in particular, site management must be able to distinguish completed and unresolved areas. The initial contact identifies the project address, construction phase and forthcoming groundworks. Existing information and technical reports are reviewed with their appendices for current plan revision, spatial coverage and outstanding questions. The first discussion establishes which conclusion is needed for the next intervention and which records are still missing.

02

Supplement historical information

Where supporting information is missing, the necessary historical research or aerial photograph analysis is carried out for the specific construction area. Available records, wartime aerial photographs and earlier maps are connected to today's location and the investigation question. Recorded war impacts, changes of use and documented ground changes are located spatially. The findings are analysed for further investigation planning; existing information that is already sufficient may continue to be used.

03

Agree the investigation objective and method

If interpretation is continuing or further steps remain within the agreed commission, the message should reflect this position. An initial observation showing no anomaly does not replace the overall assessment still required. Construction planning depends on the technically reliable conclusion already available and the work step it actually covers. The suitable method is determined from the investigation objective, groundworks plan, existing findings and local conditions. Access, installations and possible interference are considered. The specialist contractor, designers and site management agree preparation, service scope and the handover date needed. Required official notifications are assigned to the specific activity.

04

Compare design changes and carry out the investigation

If a connection changes or a deeper foundation becomes necessary, for example, submit the change to the responsible technical planners. Comparison with the area already investigated shows whether the earlier conclusion remains usable. A change neither automatically requires a complete new investigation nor falls within an earlier result without comparison. The specialist team carries out the agreed survey or technically defined supervision using the agreed method. Data and findings are recorded with their position and actual coverage. Restrictions caused by access or interference remain documented. Unexpected conditions are communicated through the agreed contacts and technically addressed before execution departs from the agreed approach.

05

Have recorded data and findings assessed by specialists

The specialist contractor assesses recorded data and findings according to the investigation objective, method and actual conditions. A measurement anomaly is interpreted without identifying it as a particular object solely because it occurs. The stage reached, interference, outstanding areas and additions required are documented in the report with associated plans. The assessment describes the technical conclusions reached and questions needing further clarification.

06

Hand over the results file and clarify the next decision

After the commissioned scope is complete, the report and plans belong together. Also document remaining restrictions and further requirements. A single sentence from an email cannot replace this information. Complete records help assess revised plans later without reconstructing the earlier state of knowledge from memory. The report and site plans connect methods, assessed results, volumes covered and limits. Designers and site management compare the next groundworks with this position. Additions needed or further consultation with authorities are clarified before the intervention concerned. The documentation remains available for later design changes and newly involved contractors.

Documentation

Distinguish a public report from property-specific evidence

Findings and their scope

Gießen’s notice of 15 October 2026 closed the live updates on Frankfurter Straße at that time. It is not an investigation report for neighbouring properties or future civil engineering work. Your project depends on technical evidence for your own area. Transfer neither earlier interim findings nor the later result to another work area.

Project responsibilities

In Hesse, the explosive ordnance clearance service at Darmstadt Regional Council is responsible for information about possible explosive ordnance contamination. FONTANA-EOD’s commissioned technical specialist service is separate from this official duty. The work required must be clarified for the specific project. The BFR KMR apply directly to federal properties and provide technical guidance outside that scope.

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

Later completion updates the earlier interim position

Consider a sequence of reports in full. The earlier unresolved question and later result belong to their respective stages of work. The project file therefore refers to the relevant final report. An older sentence taken out of context may misrepresent the position actually reached.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

A statement of results needs the area assessed

Use the identifiers from the site plan and report in communications. Even for a utility route worked in stages, this keeps clear which point or area is meant. A conclusion for one part is not automatically transferred to connections or greater depths. These need their own technical comparison.

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 in an orange high-visibility vest with a MALÅ survey cart on a meadow.
Person in a high-visibility vest in front of a marked construction area with piles of soil.
Questions from planning

Questions about findings and investigation results

Does an anomalous survey result already constitute an explosive ordnance find?

No. An anomaly needs technical assessment and may require further clarification. Nevertheless, an actual suspicious object must not be touched or moved; the safe reporting procedure through the responsible authorities applies.

Can I apply the all-clear from Frankfurter Straße to my property?

No. The city’s notice of 15 October 2026 describes the locations tested there and completion of that procedure. For another property or new intervention, its own underlying information and investigation limits must be checked.

Is one investigated point sufficient for the whole utility route?

This depends on the agreed investigation scope and technical conclusions. A result for one point does not automatically establish complete coverage of a route with its connections and different depths. The spatial reference must be clear from the documentation.

Does site management also need to know about areas with limited interpretability?

Yes. These areas and the further coordination they require belong in the handover of results. Otherwise a conclusion could be interpreted more broadly during execution than its technical basis supports.

What should I do if I find a possible item of ordnance?

Stop work in the area concerned. Do not touch the object or change its position. Move away, keep others away and call the police on 110 from a safe distance.

How should interim messages be identified in the project file?

With their date, area concerned, findings already available and tasks still outstanding. This keeps them distinguishable from later completion.

What should happen if only a brief completion message is available?

Request the associated report and plans. The actual scope must be clarified before the conclusion is used for further groundworks.

How does a new connection affect investigation needs and costs?

The new connection’s position and depth are compared with the existing evidence. This establishes whether supplementary technical clarification is needed. The work and cost depend on the area or number of points concerned, depth, available records, access and surveying conditions. Necessary preparatory work and results documents are agreed with the service scope. Scheduling identifies the conclusion needed first and the requirements to be met before execution.

Project enquiry

Prepare the first technical discussion

Send the current findings

Do you have indications or previous investigation results for your Gießen project? Send these with a site plan and proposed interventions. FONTANA-EOD discusses with you which technical question remains unresolved and how a suitable investigation commission can be defined. Also include dated preliminary messages.

Show the next groundworks

Also state which earthworks should begin first and which areas are not yet accessible. Necessary preparatory work and handover of results can then be coordinated in good time. The route, connections and other groundworks are marked on the current plan. Add access requirements, existing utility and site information, and the first handover of results needed.

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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