Project pathway
The quickest route to the right decision.
Explosive ordnance surveying and clearance in Offenbach am Main
Was a single suspected location checked on your site in Offenbach, or was the whole construction area investigated? Before the next ground works, establish which areas and depths the existing results cover. Send the available technical reports and the current ground works plan; FONTANA-EOD can help clarify what further investigation is needed and document the commissioned work with its spatial and technical limitations.
Read the source and result of the individual location assessment.
Show investigated and outstanding areas on the plan.
Compare the evidence with the new ground works.
Assess the construction project
Comparing individual location results with planned works across an area
For an explosive ordnance assessment before construction in Offenbach, we establish the actual spatial and technical scope of existing investigation results. Assessed suspected locations remain distinct from further ground works. The current ground works plan shows which areas are covered and which additional questions need resolving before the next construction stage.
Project references
Selected project examples
Offenbach – WQ 4.0, former freight station Offenbach am Main
Service period: 2026-09
Service areas:Surface surveys: GPR, TDEM and magnetometryMethod used in this project: Ground-penetrating radarOrdnance recoveryDocumentation and interpretation of survey data
Project site
Connect the site with the specific construction task
Identifying the project location and local responsibility
For projects in the independent city of Offenbach am Main, the specific ground works area is identified by address, land parcel and current plan version. This applies to Innenstadt and Stadtmitte, Bieber, Bürgel, Rumpenheim, Kaiserlei, Lauterborn, Tempelsee and Rosenhöhe. For enquiries from Frankfurt am Main, Mühlheim am Main, Heusenstamm, Obertshausen, Hanau or other locations in the Rhine-Main region, the responsible municipality is identified from the actual project location. The city and district of Offenbach remain distinct administrative areas. Existing KMRD statements and technical reports are assessed for the site in question. As in the documented Kaiserlei Nordost case, results for individual locations and wider area assessments are recorded with their respective scope. Further project locations are available in the regional overview.
For the regional context of your construction project, the Darmstadt administrative district overview provides further local information.
Local context
Assessment of suspected locations in the Kaiserlei Nordost development plan
Defining the scope of results in the Kaiserlei Nordost plan area
The explanatory statement with environmental report dated 28 April 2025 for Offenbach development plan 652B, ‘Kaiserlei Nordost; östlicher Teil’, addresses the assessment of specific suspected unexploded bomb locations in Section 7.6.3. It explicitly distinguishes the results described there from general explosive ordnance clearance of the properties concerned. The result of an assessment at an individual location does not automatically apply to the whole area.
For the plan area at the time, the explanatory statement identifies a bombed area and former anti-aircraft gun positions. Indications from wartime aerial photographs were investigated further at specific suspected locations. The report describes the investigations in 2024 and their results for those locations. When preparing new ground works, these records are compared with the site in question and the depths actually proposed. For former industrial, production, storage or logistics sites, the available land-use records are included. Railway and route corridors, bridges, underpasses and redeveloped sites are recorded with their respective extents. Documented reconstruction, filling or later earth movements may alter the relationship between earlier indications and the present ground. The local sources and investigation records remain decisive.
Using site-specific information for your own property
The explanatory statement concerns the plan area described and the stage of assessment documented there. For a separate project, the relevant statement from Hessen’s explosive ordnance clearance service, complete investigation reports and the current ground works plan are considered together. The city publishes information about the planning procedure; technical clarification follows the area actually affected and the proposed ground works.
Requirements
Clarify technical requirements and responsibilities within the project
Relate requirements to the specialist task
For the commissioned work, the applicable technical requirements, permits, competence and responsibilities are clarified. The actual scope of work is what matters. Tasks and interfaces are described for the project and checked against the required authorisations.
Link occupational safety to the construction sequence
The risk assessment, work areas and communication arrangements must suit the planned activities. Specialist explosive ordnance work is coordinated with the other construction activities. Site organisation, traffic safety and other technical assessments retain their own responsible parties. Joint coordination assigns the relevant specialist work and responsibilities to the affected construction sections.
Use technical findings correctly
A measurement anomaly first requires specialist assessment; its appearance alone does not identify it as explosive ordnance. If an object is genuinely suspected to be ordnance, the prescribed reporting procedures and the measures set by the responsible authorities apply. Investigation reports specify the work completed and its limitations, so that results are not extended to unexamined areas or later design changes.
The explanatory statement for development plan 652B dated 28 April 2025 documents the individual location assessments and the limited scope of their findings. The municipal publication explains the planning procedure. The KMRD at the Darmstadt regional administration describes the statewide property information service and the route to commissioning a specialist contractor.
The BFR KMR guidelines on clearance planning describe preparation for the technical work. The guidance on geophysics explains investigation methods; the documentation requirements support the handover of results. The Hessen general provisions identify the responsible persons, work notifications and site plan documentation. The DGUV FAQs on explosive ordnance clearance address the technical requirements for investigations during construction.
The BFR KMR apply to federal properties and provide supplementary technical guidance for other projects. The locally applicable requirements and responsibilities are established for the specific project.
The permit, certificate of competence and responsibilities for the specific activity are assessed under the Explosives Act and the First Ordinance to the Explosives Act. The risk assessment under Section 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act relates to the planned activities. The DGUV Information 201-027 covers preventive investigation and clearance of conventional explosive ordnance and defines its scope. Its explanations concerning DGUV Rule 113-003 relate to specific activities involving explosives; they are not applied indiscriminately to every investigation for construction.
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 work. Requirements and decisions of public authorities are addressed with the responsible bodies. The documents needed for a particular procedure depend on the location and project. The technical report describes the work carried out, including its documented area, depth and scope. Decisions reserved for public authorities are made by those authorities.
The KMRD, based at the Darmstadt regional administration, is responsible for the whole of Hessen. On request, it evaluates wartime aerial photographs and issues a statement describing possible contamination and the work required. A suitable specialist contractor is commissioned to investigate or clear the site. Defusing, detonation and removal remain the responsibility of the KMRD or persons it commissions. When an item is found, the local public order authority or police are notified; they contact the state service. For the specific work, the responsible persons, required evidence and work notifications are coordinated within the project programme. For a site enquiry, the KMRD requires a precise site, cadastral or detailed plan with the property boundaries marked. Include the relevant documents with the application.
Investigation task
Which specialist task comes next?
Defining the individual location task separately from the area investigation
A specific suspected hazard is assessed according to the source of the suspicion and the planned work. Other areas may raise different investigation questions. Method selection takes these differences and the local conditions into account. The scope of work at an individual location is therefore not extended to the whole construction site without specialist comparison.
Interpreting investigations at individual locations and across areasIdentifying outstanding areas from the current plans
The proposed location and depth of the ground works are compared with the existing reports. Sections not covered and limitations remain visible. The additional service has a clearly defined task. This makes clear what new findings are required and how the supplementary investigation is intended to support the subsequent construction programme.
Compare investigation methodsProject types
From an individual suspected location to a clear project overview
Recording each location with its source
Use the identifier and spatial reference from the associated document. Add the question asked about that location and the stage of work documented. A common overview makes the information easier to relate. It must not merge different point identifiers or stages of knowledge into an unspecified statement about the whole site.
Compare specialist services
Linking the scope of the findings to the report
A note in an overview refers to the full technical report and its appendices. The task, investigation and limitations described there remain decisive. Even a completed individual location assessment retains its spatial reference. Its significance for wider ground works is assessed professionally using the actual report contents.
Document findings and their limitationsShowing further ground works separately
Mark the planned excavation, utility route and other ground works with their respective boundaries. Compare these areas with the existing findings. Explicitly identify sections that remain outstanding. Further investigation addresses the specific need rather than being inferred generally from the status of a single location.
Documenting ground works and outstanding investigation scopePreparation
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 taskCoordinate 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 programmeAgree a clear scope and schedule
A realistic programme distinguishes technically resolved work from prerequisites that are still outstanding. If only part of a site will be accessible, the commission must take this into account. Handover and assessment of the results also need time in the construction programme. The schedule and effort are agreed once the scope, access and prerequisites are clear. This coordination brings together the specified scope, access, documents, site conditions and the date by which a decision is needed.
Discuss the scope and scheduleTasks at the site
Showing assessed points and investigated areas on the plan
01
Report and brief for the suspected location
A point marked in the records needs an associated technical finding. Record which report or statement it comes from and what investigation brief applies. The mark alone establishes neither that explosive ordnance was found nor the full scope of the investigation brief.
02
Individual location assessment, area and outstanding sections
Include the documented investigation areas and their identifiable boundaries in project coordination. An overview should distinguish a single assessed point, an investigated area and a section that remains outstanding. Check the plans on which it is based. Similar-looking marks may refer to different investigations.
03
Comparing ground works with investigation areas
Compare the investigation results with the actual ground works. These may include foundations, utilities or an excavation, for example. The locations and proposed extents of these elements must be checked. A result at a neighbouring point does not answer the question about those works simply because it is nearby.
04
Identifying areas not yet investigated
Where an area extends beyond those already investigated, the remaining task is identified explicitly. Completion of part of a commission does not establish that investigation of the whole project is complete. Specify which question remains to be addressed and which documents it requires.
Project documents
Documents that establish the next step
Keeping point results distinct from area assessments at handover
The documentation states which questions were addressed at which locations. Any wider assessment must make its own scope clear. Site management receives the full plans and reports. This makes it possible to trace which findings can be used for the next ground works and where additional specialist clarification is needed. After clearance work, the clearance record, including its scope, results and limitations, supplements the records for the points or areas actually treated and the corresponding plan version.
Coordinating new points with the existing identifiers
Where further indications emerge, they are clearly added to the project overview. Duplicate or inconsistent names are clarified before further work. Earlier results retain their assigned locations. A new identifier does not change the content of an existing report or automatically make different investigation tasks equivalent.
Construction sequence
Coordinate investigation and construction sections
Creating a common area overview before investigation
Bring together the existing point lists, site plans and full reports. Add the current ground works plan and mark missing appendices. The specialist planners can use this to establish what further work is required. A brief overall status is used only where its spatial and technical scope remains clear to everyone involved.
Checking the next ground works against a point result
Add the result to the overview with its actual area of applicability. Then check which question remains unanswered for the next ground works. Other sections retain their own status. The handover thus builds on documented findings and avoids unsupported claims about areas not yet covered.
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 assessmentMagnetometric 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 magnetometryElectromagnetic 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 surveyingGround-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 limitationsDeep-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 interventionsSurvey 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 constructionTechnical assessment
Aerial photograph indications, survey findings and supplementary investigations
What aerial photograph indications and survey findings establish
The historical aerial photograph analysis can provide indications for further specialist assessment. A technical survey finding, by contrast, has its own investigation context. Both results are compared professionally. An indication is not yet a confirmed find; a completed individual investigation does not automatically cover the whole area.
Where sufficient historical information is missing, the necessary research and aerial photograph analysis are commissioned specifically for the affected area. Existing explosive ordnance records are checked against their file reference, date and original brief. A suspected location identified in aerial photographs and an anomaly recorded during a survey arise from different kinds of evidence. The full plans and reports are needed to compare them. Changes to site boundaries, names or construction stages are assigned clearly. This establishes which question an earlier report actually answered and which findings are still missing for the current ground works.
Surveyed areas and measurement limitations
For the surface survey the investigation objective, surveyed area and actual survey conditions must remain clear. Interference or inaccessible sections may limit what can be concluded. These limitations belong in the documentation and must be retained when results are incorporated into a summary project report.
Method selection depends on the investigation objective, required depth range and actual survey conditions. Metal utilities, installations, reinforcement, fill or other interfering objects can affect interpretation. Specialist planning determines an appropriate approach under these conditions and how the remaining questions will be addressed. Excavations, piled foundations, retaining structures or deep utility works are therefore described by location and depth. Any necessary deep survey or borehole clearance is specific to the actual task. Access for investigation is also prepared with specialist input. If borehole positions move or the foundation plan changes, the results are checked to establish which still apply to the ground works.
Clarifying the investigation needed for outstanding sections
Supplementary surveying should specifically address the part of the task that has not yet been answered adequately. The suitable approach is determined from the existing findings, planned ground works and local conditions. Specify what must be established for the proposed ground works. The brief identifies the findings required, their spatial and depth references and the limitations to be documented.
For commissioning, the outstanding investigation task is described with a clear objective. State which ground works are planned, which areas have already been investigated and what results actually exist for them. Add the required depths, access, operational restrictions and the date by which site management needs the records. The tender distinguishes assessment of an individual location from investigation of additional areas and identifies the documentation required for each. Separate work packages may result from different ground works or sections that become available later. Offers are compared against the same technical tasks and conditions. If the construction plans change, the additional service is related to the affected area and checked against the existing commission.
For appropriate excavation supervision investigation, interpretation and communication are coordinated with the proposed construction programme. According to the DGUV FAQ, visual observation alone during excavation does not meet the state of the art. Available areas, operational access and existing results are among the planning requirements. If an area becomes accessible only after demolition or site clearance, the new conditions are checked against the outstanding investigation task. Subsequent site management receives the area covered and remaining questions in an unambiguous plan version. Further specialist work can then be prepared before the ground works that depend on it.
Next steps
Reviewing investigation status and planning the next work
Initial contact and document review
Record statements, point information and reports in full. The initial discussion establishes the construction task and the decision needed. The document review compares existing statements, point information and technical reports with the current ground works area and identifies missing information.
Clarify historical information and methods
Mark assessed points separately from investigated areas. Where historical information is incomplete, the necessary research and aerial photograph analysis are planned. Method selection takes the investigation objective, depth, existing findings and survey conditions into account.
Investigate and assess results
Compare the planned work with the documented findings. The commissioned survey or suitable investigation during construction covers the defined areas. The results are assessed with their technical limitations; outstanding tasks retain their spatial references.
Document findings and prepare the subsequent decision
Clearly define outstanding areas and the next specialist tasks. The report and site plan document the specialist work carried out. For the next-step decision, results are compared with the forthcoming ground works and any further investigations or consultation with the authorities are established.
Documentation
What was assessed and where the findings apply
Findings and their scope
The handover of results links the original brief to the investigation actually carried out. The report and its site plans must show which question was answered and which areas are covered. When using terms such as assessed or cleared, identify the task and area to which they refer. This allows subsequent parties to use the report’s findings correctly.
Agree which point identifiers, site plans and depth references belong in the documentation handed over. Investigation results are brought together with the respective method and actual interpretation limits. For clearance work, the clearance record describes the scope completed. Hessen’s provisions require site plans at a scale of 1:1,000 and submission of a copy to the KMRD after completion. An internal project overview refers to these complete records. If site management or the executing contractor changes, the basis on which the next work was prepared remains clear. Later plan changes are added with their own version. Where area clearance or recovery are required, the task, area and responsibilities are clarified before work begins.
Where point lists and site plans come from different stages of work, their identifiers, coordinates and reference systems are checked against each other. The original identifier is retained with its associated report. A newly prepared overview plan refers to that basis and marks which locations have been clarified. For reports containing depths, the vertical reference used is also checked. Excavation, filling or later construction may have changed the ground surface. Before the next ground works, the assessment therefore checks which soil layers will actually be affected and whether the existing investigation scope covers them. To have a site in Offenbach assessed for suspected explosive ordnance contamination, provide the complete older appendices as well as the current construction plan. Obtaining missing documents is recorded as a specific task.
Project responsibilities
Hessen’s general provisions require site plans for investigated or cleared areas and submission of a copy to the explosive ordnance clearance service. The commissioned specialist service remains distinct from the authorities’ responsibilities. The planning and documentation principles in the BFR KMR support a traceable handover of results.
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 taskThe 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
A map point needs its associated explanation
A mark can only be understood with its legend, source and documentation. Check whether it indicates a suspicion, planned work or an actual result. These details are retained in the project file. The colour or symbol alone is insufficient for a technical assessment of the proposed ground works.
Understand investigation reports and their limitationsA completed part of a commission retains its spatial limits
Even a fully completed commission initially describes only its agreed scope. Additional ground works are compared with that result. Missing spatial references or appendices are clarified before the report is reused. Commercial completion of a service does not justify wider technical conclusions about areas outside the documented investigation. Site management receives this plan version before the work that depends on it begins.
Understand the service scopeDesign and findings
Documents for the next construction decision
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 assessmentSpecialist 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
Further technical topics
Further technical information for your project
Determine the specialist service from the planned groundworks
Historical assessment, technical investigation and further work answer different questions. In your enquiry, describe the planned ground works and the findings needed to prepare them. For projects in the industrial and infrastructure sector add the operational conditions.
Compare servicesCoordinate the project sequence with everyone involved
Preparation connects the commission, site work and handover of findings. Changes to the project can then be incorporated into technical coordination in good time.
Process and documentationQuestions from planning
Questions about suspected locations and area assessments in Offenbach
Does an assessed suspected location mean that the whole site has been investigated?
No, that does not follow automatically. The documented brief and its spatial and technical scope are decisive. Whether further areas or ground works need investigation must be assessed separately on the basis of the existing findings and current plans.
Is a suspected location already a confirmed explosive ordnance find?
Such a mark initially describes the suspicion explained in the associated document. The actual result follows only from the specialist work and its documentation. The source, question and stage of assessment of a point must therefore remain identifiable.
Which records help define an area whose investigation status remains unresolved?
The complete existing statements and reports with their site plans are needed, together with the current ground works plan. Mark which areas were investigated and where the proposed work extends beyond them. Explicitly identify missing appendices or unclear spatial references. Agree the investigation needed before the affected ground works and clarify outstanding requirements in the KMRD statement with the responsible bodies.
Can the Kaiserlei Nordost example be applied to my site?
No. The published explanatory statement concerns a specific area and the investigation status documented there. It shows the distinction between results for individual locations and a wider area assessment. For another site, its own records and the responsible bodies must be involved.
What should I do if I find possible explosive ordnance?
Stop the affected work immediately and keep your distance. Do not touch, move, expose further or remove the object. Notify the police immediately on 110 and follow the authorities’ instructions. Do not investigate or recover a suspicious object yourself.
Is a coloured point mark sufficient evidence of the result?
No. The mark needs its legend and associated report. These must identify the task, stage of work and spatial scope.
How are conflicting point identifiers handled?
Identifiers are checked against the original records and site plans. Unclear assignments remain explicitly unresolved until specialist clarification.
Which cost factors matter for a supplementary investigation?
The required area and depth coverage, access, interference and necessary evidence determine the work involved. Separate visits and work on outstanding sections may also be needed. The agreed investigation task forms the basis for pricing the private specialist services. Any fee for official aerial photograph information is considered separately from the cost of private investigation and documentation services. Identify the official information requests and specialist work already commissioned.
Project enquiry
Explosive ordnance assessment for your project in Offenbach
Compile point lists and reports
Include the associated site plans and complete appendices. For a further construction project in Frankfurt the location, foundations and local investigation tasks are agreed separately.
Show the full extent of ground works
Also mark areas outside the suspected locations already investigated.
Specialist tasks in the project sequence
Specialist tasks in the project sequenceDocument the limits of the findings
Document the limits of the findings
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.
