Outline of Luxembourg highlighting the southwest and marking Pétange, beside a safety helmet, tablet, notebook and pen.

Ordnance surveying in southwestern Luxembourg

A municipal plan shows a property, but does not yet establish which excavation, utility line or foundation will actually be built. For projects in southwestern Luxembourg, we clarify with you which specific working areas and existing findings need to be considered together for ordnance assessment. FONTANA-EOD supports technical preparation for excavation, drilling, utility construction and site infrastructure. Relate existing findings to the proposed areas and depths.

Identify the plan version

Provide the dates and versions of documents.

Mark the ground disturbance

Distinguish property boundaries from working areas.

Assign reports

Include appendices and earlier investigation boundaries.

Enquire about a projectExplosive ordnance assessment in Luxembourg
Assess the construction project

Which drawings are needed for road and utility alterations?

Send the current road design with the proposed utility trenches, shafts and connections. Identify different drawing revisions and include intervention depths. Assign existing ordnance reports to each groundworks task. Municipal land-use plans and technical investigation reports serve different purposes.

Project site

Connect the site with the specific construction task

Luxembourg’s outline and coat of arms on a light surface, beside a hard hat, tablet, notebook and pen.

Use the N5 records to describe your own task

An ordnance assessment before construction in southwestern Luxembourg needs the municipality, project address and plots. Along the N5 between Käerjeng and Pétange, shared plans affect several municipal areas. Identify the actual project location for connections and access routes as well. The N5 plans list the water crossing, gas line and empty duct design separately. Describe your own project's actual proposed works just as clearly. Current drawings and existing reports provide the basis for technical coordination. Your own ground interventions and local requirements are decisive, even if several services form part of a shared road scheme. Further project locations are listed in the regional overview. Assign existing official decisions and contacts to each municipality and construction task.

The task description specifies the findings needed for each area. Supplement a narrow utility line on an overview with trench width, working spaces alongside it and deep connection points. If the route moves, mark the affected sections against the previous drawing. Before the next intervention, site management and the specialist contractor can then identify which results remain usable and where the investigation commission must change.

Information about ordnance surveying in Differdange and Pétange helps prepare your project enquiry. The deciding evidence is the records and planned ground interventions for each property.

Luxembourg
Local context

Liberation in 1944, drawing revisions and today's interventions

Consolidated and earlier municipal planning documents

In Pétange on 9 September 1944, American troops first entered Luxembourg territory and liberated the municipality. The Grand Ducal commemorative account also recalls Lieutenant Hyman Josefson, who died there in combat. Historical interpretation relates such local evidence to the transport routes and buildings at the time and the position of today's project. For a site with suspected explosive ordnance contamination in southwestern Luxembourg, the geographical relationship to the specific intervention matters. Account for subsequent earthmoving and available investigations as further stages.

The municipality of Pétange provides consolidated and earlier versions on its PAG and PAP Q.E. web page. These include written and graphical documents for Pétange, Rodange and Lamadelaine, among others. The overview illustrates why each version and its geographical relevance should be identified clearly when drawings are handed over.

Utility works along the N5 in the 2025 plan

The municipal plans for alterations to the N5 at the Käerjeng/Pétange boundary, dated February 2025, list renewal of a water main crossing and gas line alongside a separate empty duct plan. If your project includes these types of utility works, include the affected sections with their positions and intervention depths in the enquiry. This enables a check of whether existing ordnance reports cover them or further investigation is needed. The N5 records describe construction planning; they do not establish a local ordnance finding.

The presentation was prepared for the municipal councils of Käerjeng on 14 February and Pétange on 24 February 2025. Its utility networks section distinguishes individual utility works from the road structure. For an investigation commission, show trench routes, crossings, shafts and deeper individual points separately. The programme at that time represents a planning revision; forthcoming works require the current construction drawing and conditions actually applicable.

Define the actual construction task

For an investigation commission, we also need the proposed ground interventions. A property boundary may extend beyond the excavation; conversely, a connection line may extend outside the property. Determine the investigation scope from the specific construction task and existing findings. A colour on a drawing does not replace a technical ordnance investigation.

Clarify site-specific requirements

For the actual project location, clarify which municipal or public authorities must be involved and which requirements apply to the commissioned activity.

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. Documents needed for an official procedure are determined by the site, project and requirements of the competent body. The technical report describes the specialist service completed with its documented area, depth and service scope. The respective competent bodies make official decisions.

In Luxembourg, the Service de déminage de l’Armée luxembourgeoise, SEDAL, deals with found ammunition. The army identifies its tasks as identification, assessment, neutralisation and destruction. The police receive urgent danger reports on 113. For the planned specialist investigation, tasks, contacts and necessary prerequisites are agreed before work begins. Site management keeps these contacts available to those involved and refers any find to the responsible state authorities.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

Compare requirements for every proposed intervention

Assign existing results to the current utility and road works. Consider area, depth, method and documented limitations. Suitable results can continue to be used. Determine additional requirements for unresolved areas; neither the property boundary nor the number of utility companies involved alone determines the technical investigation scope needed.

Compare the existing investigation scope

Account for existing infrastructure and access

Identify known utility lines, technical installations and inaccessible areas. The technical planners use these details to prepare a suitable investigation. Keep identified limitations visible in the documentation. The subsequent sequence must account for unresolved tasks rather than infer an unsupported conclusion about the whole road from a successful investigation of a neighbouring section.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Bring drawing revisions and individual utility works together

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

Provide historical findings for the affected sections

Relate aerial photograph analyses and other historical assessments, with their maps, to today's intervention design. A road project may include several areas and adjoining connections. The technical planners must be able to identify which areas the available findings cover. A general place or street name does not replace a traceable link between the historical assessment and the ground actually affected.

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

Determine a suitable service from the positions and depths of the works

A water crossing, gas line and empty ducts may follow different routes and formation levels. Include these details in the enquiry. The technical planners account for existing results and known installations when selecting an approach. A shared road alteration scheme does not automatically require a uniform investigation scope if the individual works affect different areas and depths.

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

Keep the drawing revisions used identifiable in the documentation

Assign reports and results plans to the design on which the investigation was based. If a connection changes, keep the difference traceable. Site management receives complete records with the technical limitations. A later consolidated drawing issue does not replace comparison with the actual investigated position, even if the road name remains the same.

Document findings and their limitations
Preparation

Prepare the scope and commission together

Establish what needs to be known before commissioning the work

First establish which decision the commission needs to support. Is the task an initial assessment of existing documents, an investigation of a specific area or examination of an anomaly that has already been assessed? These tasks require different evidence. A general wish for safety does not define an investigation that can be carried out. The enquiry therefore specifies the groundworks, location, depth and available findings. Suitable specialist work and the required reporting are then agreed on that basis.

Define the specialist task

Coordinate preparatory work with the investigation

Required access and survey conditions are clarified before the site visit. This may include keeping areas clear, obtaining service information and coordinating with other trades. The method and site determine which preparations are actually needed. Changes to the surface or additional groundworks are not undertaken unilaterally simply to prepare for a survey. Their sequence is agreed with the specialist designers and responsible parties.

Clarify preparatory work in the programme

Agree a clear scope and schedule

A reliable programme distinguishes tasks already technically resolved from prerequisites still outstanding. If an area will be only partly accessible, account for this when commissioning work. Results handover and assessment also need time in the construction programme. Agree timing and the work required once scope, access, documents, construction conditions and the date a decision is needed are clarified.

Discuss the scope and schedule
Prepare the construction project

Hand over records that make the commission clear

01

Distinguish the property from the construction area

Identify the affected properties and also draw the proposed interventions. If the whole site is not yet being developed, show the areas needed first. Do not extend an investigation's conclusions to neighbouring areas without checking them.

02

Identify the applicable drawing revision

Provide the date, drawing title and known changes. If alternatives exist, make clear which forms the basis of the enquiry. An earlier draft may contain useful background but is not the current working drawing without comparison.

03

Include connection works

Also describe utility lines, access routes and other works planned outside the eventual building footprint. The actual ground interventions, with their positions and depths, are decisive. Use these details to clarify whether further investigation is needed.

04

Include earlier results in full

Provide existing ordnance reports with their site plans and appendices. A brief conclusion without geographical attribution is often insufficient for comparison. The area investigated, depth and documented limitations must be identifiable.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Show shafts and crossings alongside the utility alignment

A narrow line on a site plan does not describe every excavation and working space. Include deeper individual points and the areas needed at connections. The technical planners can then check which findings are already available. A report for an adjoining utility section cannot be transferred to an excavation elsewhere or at greater depth solely because it concerns the same utility.

Use municipal planning records for their intended purpose

PAG and PAP documents can help establish a project's planning context. For the technical ordnance question, also review their specific information and existing specialist reports. Identify the dates and versions used. The project file assigns urban planning requirements, intervention designs and investigation results to their respective purposes. The ordnance survey report links baseline information, measurement data, survey results, assessment of findings and the results plan. For clearance work actually carried out, the clearance record describes the areas, depths and scope. The conclusion relates usable results and outstanding tasks to the project file and next groundworks.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Bring together a common basis for the enquiry

Provide current designs for the different utilities with the road design and existing results reports. Identify alternatives not yet coordinated and missing depth information. State the works proposed first. Technical coordination can then address the actual known status and clarify the information needed before the next investigation is specified definitively.

Coordinate the construction phase with us

Provide site management with the applicable revision

Before the intervention, the contractor receives the current drawing and applicable results. Pass on changes with their affected areas, then compare the investigation scope on technical grounds. This also applies to small connections added during further design; inclusion in an existing contract does not expand an earlier investigation's conclusions.

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

Compare the design with the investigation method

Assess existing indications

A historical aerial photograph analysis can bring together information from available images and other sources. Account for their coverage and limitations. A municipal planning revision and a historical source assessment serve different purposes; relate both to the specific area.

If sufficient historical evidence is missing, commission the necessary research, including suitable aerial photographs, as a separate task. Bring together images, maps and files according to their dates and geographical information. Compare former road alignments, building uses and ground changes with today's working area. The assessment of suspected explosive ordnance contamination records which indications need to be followed up and where the available information is not yet sufficient for a reliable assessment.

Investigate open areas using suitable measurements

A surface survey may be considered if it can provide suitable findings for the construction task under the existing conditions. Installations, ground conditions and access affect this assessment. Do not define the scope solely by the property's size.

Method selection relates the investigation objective and intervention depth to soil structure, moisture and interfering objects. Geomagnetic surveys, electromagnetic methods and ground-penetrating radar measure different physical properties. Include known existing utility lines, reinforcement and metal installations during preparation. The specialist contractor clarifies which areas are accessible and interpretable under local conditions and whether individual deep working areas require supplementary investigations.

Assess individual deep interventions separately

For deep foundations or individual interventions, assess whether a deep or borehole survey is suitable. The assessment requires the precise position and depth. Do not adopt an investigation for a shallower intervention or one elsewhere without checking it. The technical scope of explosive ordnance recovery is coordinated with the responsible Luxembourg authorities.

For phased road excavation, record the start and end of each investigation section on the site plan. An unresolved crossing may lie between two investigated sections. A property connection added later must also be compared with the results at its own depth. Site management therefore needs a traceable relationship between the working section, report and next construction task. If excavations or borehole positions move, check that they lie within the documented investigation limits before work starts. Record a separate next task for inaccessible areas. This keeps the technical findings available for the forthcoming groundworks and prerequisites still to be clarified identifiable through changing construction phases.

Borehole clearance relates to the agreed position, depth and technical service actually performed. For ordnance supervision during excavation, agree the supervision scope, excavation sequence and access with site management in advance. Area clearance and recovery require a clearly described commission and clarification of the tasks permitted in Luxembourg and the public authorities' responsibilities. Keep usable investigation results documented separately from the handling of an actual find.

Next steps

Collect existing drawings for an enquiry

01

Locate the project

Provide property details and a site plan whose location can be clearly identified. At first contact, agree the project location, next groundworks and date by which a decision is needed. Existing ordnance reports with maps and limitations form part of the records review.

02

Describe the works

Include the excavation, foundation and connections with their planned intervention depths. Where historical evidence is incomplete, arrange the necessary research, including suitable aerial photographs. Specialist interpretation relates the findings to the planned working areas.

03

Compare findings

We discuss existing records and their relevance to the proposed ground intervention. On this basis, select methods according to target objects, soil, depth and interference. Carry out the agreed survey or technical supervision and assess the scope and limitations of the results.

04

Agree the investigation

Agree the technical scope needed and next questions to resolve. Hand over the report, maps and, where applicable, clearance record. The decision on next steps establishes which results can be used before the next groundworks and which technical tasks remain necessary.

Documentation

Investigation results remain limited to their scope

Findings and their scope

The report must traceably identify which areas and depths were investigated under which conditions. This is particularly important if a site is later subdivided or the design changes. A new property layout does not expand an earlier investigation's scope. At the same time, account for suitable existing results rather than automatically prescribing a particular new investigation.

Project responsibilities

In Luxembourg, tasks concerning found ammunition are coordinated according to public responsibilities. SEDAL lists the identification, neutralisation and destruction of ammunition among its activities. A private technical report documents its commission; it replaces neither these duties nor an official decision required for the project.

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

Identify differences between drawing revisions specifically

Mark relocated utility lines, added shafts and changed formation levels. A version number shows that a file changed but does not yet explain its technical significance. Geographical comparison helps retain suitable existing conclusions and define the further work needed. Record which revision will actually be used for the next groundworks.

An added shaft formation level may concern a different depth range from the connecting trench. Identify unchanged areas as well and provide a common elevation datum. If several utility companies are involved, record who supplies each drawing revision and distributes changes. The investigation can then be tailored to the actual next construction phase while later alternatives remain identifiable as such. Include sections showing ground level, proposed formation level and existing utility lines. This makes additional depths and working spaces alongside the works identifiable even where technical drawings use different scales.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

Keep results accessible across project boundaries

Where road and utility works have separate contracts, assign the reports needed to each clearly. Clarify who supplies complete records and passes on changes. Site management must be able to locate its own working areas in them. Shared storage supports access but does not replace technical identification of the documented areas and depths.

For tendering, describe investigation, necessary preparatory work, interpretation and results handover as traceable tasks. Access, closures, surfaces and known obstacles affect the works. Also state the map formats needed and the handover point before the next groundworks. Clear attribution helps make quotations comparable and prevents differing area or depth scopes being grouped under the same service name.

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 properties and planning records

Does a representation in the PAG or PAP establish ordnance investigation results?

Not on the strength of its label alone. Check the information actually contained and, where relevant, separate investigations for the ordnance question. A planning map is not automatically evidence of areas and depths investigated. Agree investigation requirements before the proposed groundworks. The process combines records review, necessary research and method selection with investigation, assessment and documentation.

Which version of a drawing should I send?

Send the drawing on which your current enquiry is based, with its date and title. Include older records if they contain relevant findings. Identify differences and unresolved alternatives clearly.

Must the whole property always be investigated?

Determine the necessary scope from the specific project and existing findings. The property area and intervention area are not necessarily identical. Connections or other ancillary works may also need consideration.

After subdivision, does a report automatically cover each new plot?

No. Relate the documented investigation areas and depths to each plot and proposed intervention. Subdivision itself changes neither the technical scope nor the limitations of the existing report.

What should I do if a suspicious object is found in Luxembourg?

Stop work in the affected area, keep your distance and keep others away. Do not touch, move or transport the object. Notify the police in Luxembourg immediately on 113. Do not substitute a routine project enquiry for this report. SEDAL, a public service of the Luxembourg Army, identifies, assesses and handles found ammunition.

Is the road design sufficient without utility details?

Specific preparation also needs the proposed utility trenches, shafts, connections and depths. Suitable measurement methods depend on the investigation objective, soil structure, interfering objects and access. Identify measurement limits and areas with restricted interpretability in the report.

Which factors determine effort and costs?

Areas and depths, historical evidence, access and interference determine the work involved. Methods, investigation, interpretation and documentation also contribute, as does further investigation of findings where necessary. For design changes, mark revised positions, additional working areas and different depths. Compare these with the documented investigation scope so the necessary supplementary work can be agreed specifically.

Who needs the complete results documentation?

The parties responsible for each groundworks task. Their working areas must be traceably assigned to the reports, including maps and limitations.

Project enquiry

Coordinate your construction project in the southwest

Bring utility designs together

Show the current road, crossings, trenches and shafts. Include the project address, municipality and applicable drawing revisions.

Identify drawing revisions

Assign changes and existing results clearly. Identify existing utility lines, access, construction phases and the decision 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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