Project pathway
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A foundation date is scheduled, but the investigation still needs to be checked against the proposed structures and depths. FONTANA-EOD supports clients, planning offices and site management in preparing this work in Bergheim. The specific plans should establish which results are needed before each work step, in a form understandable to site management and contractors.
Identify the structures, locations and proposed depths.
Clarify the results required before each stage of work.
Document investigated areas and limitations.
For your construction project in Bergheim, foundations, existing findings and the planned construction sequence are considered together. We clarify which specialist information is required for each area. Changes and outstanding prerequisites remain traceable through to handover for construction.

The town's draft plan for Glessener Mühlenhof of June 2025 describes an application by the Bergheim public order office and subsequent trial survey by the state service. The attached map is from the Düsseldorf District Government. The example demonstrates the connection with the specific planning area; the conditions for your own project are agreed with the local public order authority. The draft explicitly describes the technical limitations at that time caused by utilities and deposited fill. Your own investigation is planned according to the actual conditions on the project site. Bergheim is a town in the Rhein-Erft district, within the Cologne administrative district, in North Rhine-Westphalia. For projects in Glessen, Kenten, Quadrath-Ichendorf or Niederaußem, for example, state the specific project address and work areas affected. For projects outside the town, the relevant municipal point of contact is clarified separately.
On 10 April 2018, the town of Bergheim reported that ongoing ordnance investigations were delaying driven pile works on the station project at that time. In a further announcement on 11 October 2018, it described the proposed steps for part of the shopping and service centre, based on information from the company involved there. These are reports from a specific period about that third-party project, not findings about a present-day property.
For your planning, the prerequisites for the next construction phase need clarification. A programme should not merely list investigation and foundations alongside one another; it should identify the handovers required. The construction sequence published at that time cannot be transferred to another project; its investigation needs are determined from its own documents and proposed groundworks.
The chronology of the Bergheim historical society records the occupation in March 1945 and war damage in the administrative area at that time. For a present-day project, later structural changes and earth movements are assessed using the available property documents. Historical findings receive a traceable spatial reference. The local planning example for Glessener Mühlenhof describes its own indications from historical documents; those findings apply to the areas investigated there. For other areas, the findings available in each case are assessed.
For the commissioned activities, the relevant technical requirements and questions of permits, competence certification and responsibility are clarified. The actual planned service scope is decisive. A general company designation does not replace checking that the tasks and interfaces are described appropriately for the specific project.
The risk assessment, working areas and communication must fit the planned activities. Explosive ordnance specialist works are coordinated with the other construction works. Operational organisation, traffic safety and other technical checks retain their own responsible parties. Joint coordination brings the information together and assigns tasks and decisions to the respective competent participants.
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.
Procedure at the site: District town of Bergheim: press releases of 10 April and 11 October 2018 on the station project.
Planning and documentation: BFR KMR: principles of clearance planning · BFR KMR: geophysics · BFR KMR: documentation · North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of the Interior: explosive legacy
The BFR KMR are used as technical guidance; locally applicable requirements and responsibilities must be clarified separately.
The permit, qualifications 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 addresses preventive investigation and clearance of conventional explosive ordnance and defines its scope. The references it explains to DGUV Regel 113-003 concern specific activities involving explosives; they are not applied indiscriminately to every construction investigation.
Private works are subject to the exceptions under the KampfmittelVO and the requirements of the official guidance. The exceptions concern, in particular, downhole detection as part of specialist foundation engineering and explosive ordnance clearance during construction under the conditions laid down by law. Private explosive ordnance clearance during construction requires that prior investigation using recognised explosive ordnance detection methods is not possible. A relevant factor is also the state explosive ordnance disposal service's assessment that there are no specific indications of ordnance contamination on the site concerned. All further spatial, technical and organisational requirements are clarified for the specific activity. The competent authorities decide on the official appointment.
Further local planning example: District town of Bergheim: Glessener Mühlenhof draft plan, June 2025, Section 2.9.
The client describes the project and provides the available project documents. The operator adds requirements relating to use, access and scheduling. The participants agree their respective tasks and decision-making responsibilities. A coordinating contact person brings the project information together. Before an appointment, it is recorded clearly which information is missing, who will obtain it and which decision the result is intended to support.
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.
The private explosive ordnance specialist company carries out the agreed permissible investigation and documentation scope. Authority requirements and decisions are clarified with the respective competent bodies. The documents needed for a specific procedure depend on the site and project. The technical report documents the specialist service performed, including areas, depths and limits of its conclusions. Its applicability to further groundworks is checked against the specific intervention.
The district town of Bergheim and the state explosive ordnance disposal service perform the official duties. For the administrative district of Cologne, the service at the Düsseldorf District Government is responsible. The local draft plan identifies the building control authority as the point of contact for an investigation application. For your project, the currently responsible municipal authority, application documents required and necessary referral are clarified. Private specialist tasks remain described with their permissible scope of services.
The investigation scope required is derived from the current groundworks and existing findings. Accessibility, installations and ground conditions can influence the specialist work. A method from a third-party project is therefore not transferred without assessment. Its suitability and limitations are described specifically for your own project.
Assess historical documentsOfficial requirements and the permissible private specialist service are recorded with their respective subject matter. Before commissioning, the specific conditions in North Rhine-Westphalia must be checked. The agreed scope identifies the results required and outstanding coordination. Technical feasibility alone does not replace any legal or official clarification required.
Compare investigation methods
A single foundation plan may contain different depths and work areas. Show the relevant structures and their locations clearly. Additional work outside the building outline is also included. The specialist commission then identifies which findings are required for which groundworks.
Alongside the foundations, identify the working areas and access routes needed to construct them. A borehole or pile position is described with its location and current elevation reference. Where several types of structure are involved, it remains clear which investigation findings are required for which ground area and volume. This also applies to advance exploratory openings and additional utility connections. Before preparatory or subsequent groundworks, the investigations and protective measures required are clarified. Contractors receive the plan revision relevant to their task.
Compare specialist services for the individual groundworks
A programme should show which documents must be available before a particular work step. Merely reserving an investigation appointment is insufficient. Record outstanding prerequisites and responses. The next construction phase is related to the findings actually available; specialist results still required remain identified.
Assign the documents required and their respective recipient to each construction phase. If a result is still outstanding, this dependency is explicitly recorded in the programme. An earlier or postponed construction phase is compared with the findings actually available at that time. Site management receives the response relating to the work areas under its supervision. Changes to site conditions are communicated to those responsible before the affected work and assessed on specialist grounds.
Coordinate the sequence and tasks
Ordnance investigation and other measurements during construction have different objectives. Identify the scope required and results documents for each task. Taking place in the same construction phase does not make their findings interchangeable. The subsequent handover must identify which question was actually addressed by which investigation.
In the enquiry, distinguish the objective of ordnance investigation from that of a foundation or vibration assessment. For each work package, identify the spatial boundaries, input information required and expected results documents. Site plans that can be used jointly carry an unambiguous revision status. Actual measurement data and assessments remain assigned to the respective specialist task. Site management can then identify which findings are available to prepare particular groundworks and which response from another specialist discipline is still outstanding.
Specialist services and investigation tasksHistorical preliminary assessment, technical investigation and specialist work during construction answer different project questions. The permissible private activity under the specific North Rhine-Westphalia procedure is clarified with the information objective and necessary authority involvement before an agreement.
For the Bergheim commission, the information needed before each foundation step is described. Structures, positions and depths are linked with existing findings. This establishes whether documents first need assessment, an additional ground area and volume need investigation, or previously assessed findings require further work. The commissioned specialist service and results documents have a clear scope. A start date in the programme does not establish an investigation status already achieved. Planning considers fieldwork, assessment and handover as connected parts of the specialist task required.
Define the specialist taskBefore the investigation appointment, the survey areas actually accessible and available utility information are clarified. Preparation is coordinated with forthcoming construction phases and other trades. The preparatory work needed depends on the method and site. Additional breaking of the surface or other groundworks to provide survey access are prepared in advance on specialist grounds and are not undertaken independently. Outstanding prerequisites remain assigned to the foundation area affected. If access becomes possible only through a later construction phase, the professionally agreed sequence is explicitly taken into account.
Clarify preparatory work in the programmeThe scope of private specialist work is agreed using the project documents, actual execution conditions and permissible activity. Necessary preparatory works, investigation, evaluation and documentation are described transparently. Costs and dates are related to these prerequisites and the required coordination. Changes to the construction plans are checked against the agreed contract before work is extended.
Discuss the scope and scheduleShow piles, footings, excavations and retaining elements on the current plan where these are proposed. Include work outside the building outline. Otherwise, a general term such as foundations conceals differences that may be essential for defining an investigation.
For each structure affected, planning needs an understandable depth with an elevation reference. If ground level or the working platform changes, this difference must be taken into account. An earlier result for shallower work does not automatically answer the question of deeper groundworks.
Describe existing surfacing, installations and access. The preparation required and permissible is agreed on specialist grounds. A scheduled investigation appointment does not constitute an instruction to break into an unresolved area independently or remove soil in advance.
If a footing is relocated or a different foundation option is selected, the change should be available before the affected work. Identify the new revision against the previous plans. This enables a focused assessment of whether existing results also cover the changed scope.
Check whether the documented results cover the area and depth of the proposed work. Limitations remain part of this allocation. A general report title is insufficient for this decision. For outstanding areas, the further assessment or work required is specifically determined.
A results plan is compared with the proposed structure and its working area and volume. If the location or elevation reference differs, the difference is clarified using the associated documents. Areas already treated are distinguished from unresolved areas. Limitations caused by installations, interfering objects or lack of access remain part of specialist assessment. Any addition needed is described for the specific outstanding task and agreed with its permissible scope of services before further groundworks rely on it.
An investigation may concern only one section of the entire project. The handover identifies the stage actually reached and remaining questions. Further construction phases are checked separately. This prevents a treated part of the site from becoming unlimited evidence for all later groundworks on the property.
Identify the part of the site treated and its associated points on the common project plan. Where work proceeds in sections, it remains clear which report documents which stage. A later addition receives a traceable link to previous results. Recipients receive the complete attachments and outstanding tasks for their area. After clearance work has been carried out, the clearance record, including its scope, results and limitations, supplements the evidence for the part of the site actually treated and the associated points on the project plan. For subsequent work, it is checked whether the ground area and volume investigated at that time and the surface used as its reference correspond to the current groundworks.
Bring together the current design, existing analyses and complete reports. Identify alternatives still outstanding and missing attachments. The findings required are assigned to the proposed construction phases. This enables further work to focus on the tasks actually forthcoming.
Submit complete reports, including legends, maps and attachments. Note which revision of the foundation plan is already binding and which alternatives are still being developed. For an older result, identify the reason for the investigation at that time. Missing components are requested from the issuer. This allows existing evidence to be assigned to the investigation actually documented and compared with the newly planned areas, depths and construction conditions. Any supplementary specialist task is related to the information still missing.
If a structure is relocated, deepened or built differently, the change is passed to those responsible. Comparison with previous results determines the further work required. The relevant revision remains identifiable to site management and specialists. An unchanged calendar date does not extend an existing investigation.
Describe whether the change concerns only a shift in location or also deeper groundworks or a different construction method. Additional excavations, retaining works and connection areas are also included. A superseded plan revision remains identifiable as such, while the new basis is sent to the responsible recipients. Specialist planning assesses the effect on the proposed investigation and its findings. Additions still required are agreed for the affected areas; unchanged parts retain their documented results and limitations.
Historical aerial imagery analysis and other older documents help to place the basis for suspected ordnance in its spatial context. Images, their information value and the area boundaries considered are linked with the planned foundation groundworks. The absence of a visible finding is not a technical investigation of the ground as it is today. The assessment is brought together with other results and the current construction task. For the next work steps, it remains clear which questions have been assessed historically and which present-day investigation is still required. A general programme does not add findings already achieved to this knowledge.
Understand aerial photograph assessmentMagnetometric methods detect magnetic anomalies. Suitability is assessed for expected objects, ground conditions, interference and the required investigation area. Utilities, fences and existing structures can influence interpretation. Signal strength alone does not identify an object as ordnance. Measurement, assessment and further investigation are connected with the information needed for the next groundworks. Magnetometry measures the magnetic field passively. What matters is the magnetic effect of the object being sought; electrical conductivity alone does not make it detectable by this method.
Understand the scope of magnetometryElectromagnetic investigations may be suitable for certain metallic target objects and site conditions. Selection considers the information required, accessible survey areas and interfering installations, rather than equipment availability alone. Results are documented with their location and investigation conditions. Any addition required follows from specialist assessment and the task still outstanding for the foundation area. Transient electromagnetic methods, or TDEM, evaluate the electromagnetic response of conductive objects over time. The method is selected according to the investigation objective and actual measurement conditions.
Understand electromagnetic surveyingUnder suitable conditions, ground-penetrating radar can provide information on subsurface structures and reflections. Ground conditions, moisture and installations affect interpretability. A reflection is not automatically ordnance; an unremarkable area does not confirm conditions at any arbitrary depth. Specialist interpretation and limitations are documented with the commission. Before an existing radar plan prepared for other tasks is used as ordnance evidence, its purpose and scope are checked. For the next foundation step, what matters is whether the findings actually achieved cover the proposed ground area and volume.
GPR and limitationsFor deeper groundworks, it may be necessary to check whether investigation from the surface can provide the information required or whether another approach is needed. Positions, depths, elevation references, borehole layout and known utilities then form part of preparation. The provision of suitable investigation access is professionally planned and linked with the construction sequence required. A standard grid or general depth figure does not replace this task. Results remain tied to the areas actually investigated and the method used. The date for foundation work is distinguished from the specialist work still required for it.
Prepare deep interventionsIf a necessary advance investigation cannot be completed in full, it is assessed whether a professionally planned approach during construction is suitable. Investigation, interpretation and communication of findings are linked to the specific construction work. Visual observation of excavated material alone does not replace a necessary ordnance survey. Site management needs an allocation of specialist work, new findings and unresolved areas within the sequence. A tight programme alone does not establish a suitable approach. The prerequisites and results required are agreed for your own project, rather than transferred from the construction sequence of a third-party project.
Agree the approach during constructionA historical aerial photograph analysis is related to the planned area together with other findings. A known construction event elsewhere does not replace this assessment. A location within Bergheim establishes neither specific ordnance contamination nor the suitability of a particular investigation method.
If assessment of existing documents identifies outstanding historical questions, the research required is directed at them. Any official aerial imagery analysis needed is initiated through the local procedure and carried out by the responsible state service. The findings are compared with present-day groundworks areas and subsequent changes. The measurement conditions actually present are recorded for the technical investigation. Historical indications, specialist work carried out and outstanding tasks remain distinguishable in the project record.
A survey must suit the question and the conditions on site. If deeper structures are proposed, the findings obtainable from the chosen method must be assessed for them. A particular technique is not selected solely because it was used on another foundation project. Method selection considers the investigation objective, depth of groundworks, ground composition, utilities, interfering objects and actual measurability. Any additions required are agreed for the specific task with their permissible scope.
The clearance plan can coordinate the investigations required, preparation and further steps. Describe the respective prerequisites and handovers. If results are still missing, this remains identifiable in the programme; a planned calendar week does not replace a specialist decision on the next groundworks. The results documentation records the actual stage of work.
A permissible specialist task during construction is agreed with the affected work areas and existing findings. The work actually supervised, measurements and observations are assigned spatially. Uninvestigated areas and further investigations required remain identified. The technical report documents the service carried out and its specialist assessment. Visual observation alone is not an equivalent substitute for professional explosive ordnance clearance during construction. For later groundworks, the applicability of the result is checked against the planned ground area and volume.
Review existing analyses, results reports and maps together with the foundation design. Check which areas have already been considered and what findings the documents actually support. Missing attachments and outstanding design alternatives are identified before the service scope is defined. Existing documents are checked for currency, spatial relevance and gaps. Where historical findings are missing, the research required is carried out; any official aerial imagery analysis needed is initiated through the local procedure via the municipal point of contact with the responsible state service.
The Bergheim announcement of October 2018 distinguishes ordnance detection from instrumental monitoring of vibration. Different measurement tasks must also remain identifiable in your own commission. Evidence of vibration values is not an ordnance investigation result and says nothing about its spatial coverage. A suitable investigation method is chosen according to the information sought, depth of groundworks, ground composition, existing utilities, interfering objects and measurement conditions. Permissible commissioning and outstanding prerequisites for carrying out the work are agreed with those responsible.
The survey or investigation during construction appointed under North Rhine-Westphalia's requirements is carried out in the agreed areas and points. Measurement data and observations receive traceable location and elevation references. Uninvestigated areas, restricted access and relevant interference are recorded.
The collected data and findings are evaluated against the investigation objective. The technical assessment considers interference, the areas reached and remaining limits of the conclusions. It establishes which further investigation or work is needed for the planned groundworks.
The report and plan attachments document the specialist works performed and their assessment. Worked areas, investigation depths, the relevant ground surface and limitations remain assigned. Reused older results and newly investigated areas are recorded distinctly. The agreed recipients receive the related documents together.
Relate the investigation report to the current plan. Is the proposed structure, including its depth, covered, or do parts remain unresolved? The answer determines the further coordination required. A general results heading is insufficient for this comparison.
Hand over the relevant documents with their limitations to site management. Changes are referred back to the responsible specialists. For work added later, it should be clear which results can still be used and where a new assessment is needed.
A programme describes proposed work; it does not document that it has been carried out. Ordnance documentation includes the actual investigation scope, results and remaining limitations. Documents produced alongside it, for example on foundations or vibration, remain identifiable by their respective specialist task.
FONTANA-EOD undertakes the agreed permissible ordnance commission. Official decisions are made by the competent authorities. The findings of the technical report remain tied to the documented specialist task, area, depth and recorded limitations; their applicability is checked against each subsequent ground intervention. The BFR Kampfmittelräumung serve as a specialist basis for planning and documentation. They apply directly to federal property and must be considered alongside local requirements outside that scope.
FONTANA-EOD carries out the agreed specialist task for the identified foundation areas in Bergheim and the relevant plan revision. Before work begins, accessible areas and the results required are agreed. If planning or local conditions change, the scope is reviewed before the affected work. The report documents the work actually carried out and its limitations. Site management can identify which findings are available for the next step and what clarification is still needed. A planned investigation and an assessed result that has been handed over remain distinguishable.
Discuss the investigation taskMethod selection begins with the information missing for each foundation intervention. Specialist planning considers existing results, ground conditions and actual investigation conditions. Available equipment or the method used on a third-party construction project is not sufficient as the sole basis. The approach is justified for your own task. Planning links the information required with the affected structure and the next activity.
Inaccessible areas and areas with limited interpretability are identified with their actual boundaries. Site management can assign the relevant foundation steps and additions still required to them. A general total-area figure does not replace this distinction. Planning and construction teams agree when a suitable investigation will become possible. The sequence then identifies which activities can build on existing results and where a specialist task must first be carried out.
A new location, additional depth or different construction method is compared with existing results before the affected work. Specialist planning receives the identifiable change in relation to the ground area and volume previously investigated. Its response and any additions required are assigned to the relevant structure and work step. An unchanged scheduled foundation date or the same project name does not in itself confirm an unchanged investigation task. The programme is linked to the findings actually achieved.
Reports and associated plan attachments are handed over to site management in full with the relevant plan revision. An overview can identify the findings, limitations and outstanding tasks important for the next work steps. It does not replace the documented investigation scope. When site management or contractors change, the evidence remains assignable to the respective foundation areas. The next activity can then relate to the results actually available rather than merely continuing with an originally planned date.
Check which commission the record belongs to and what findings it actually contains. Results concerning vibration and ordnance are recorded separately. Their relationship to the respective area or construction phase is retained. Filing different specialist evidence together does not in itself make it a complete investigation result.
Understand investigation reports and their limitationsThe conditions of a published construction project may differ from those of your project. Use your own plans and existing findings as the working basis. The investigation needed is assessed for this scope. A known construction event provides no blanket information on ordnance contamination, method or duration of work for another property.
Understand the service scope
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
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


Historical assessment, technical investigation and further work answer different questions. The enquiry describes the outstanding task, affected areas and depths, and the results required. The permissible scope of services is agreed in line with the actual conditions and responsibilities.
Compare services
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 documentationNo. The town's announcements describe individual works on the project at that time in 2018. For another property, its own findings and proposed groundworks must be considered. The announcements are also not evidence of a FONTANA-EOD project.
This cannot be determined as a blanket rule. The specific foundations, existing findings and investigation conditions are assessed. The suitable method and any further measures required must be determined from these on specialist grounds.
No. The measurement tasks differ. A vibration record does not establish which area was investigated for ordnance. Keep the two tasks and their results documents separately assignable within the project.
The change must first be compared with the documented scope. Location, depth and limitations are among the decisive factors. Only then can it be assessed whether the previous results are sufficient or further clarification is needed.
Stop work in the affected area. Leave the object where it is without touching or moving it, keep your distance and keep other people away. From a safe distance, notify the police immediately by calling 110 and follow their instructions.
Which findings are required for the affected structures, which results are available and which steps remain outstanding. The current groundworks remain decisive.
Only after comparison with its documented scope and limitations. Additional areas or depths receive their own specialist assessment.
For a changed foundation option, provide the current plan with location, depth and construction method, together with a clear description of the change. This allows a focused assessment of further investigation needs. The effort depends on usable previous documents, preparatory work and access required, the area or number and depth of investigation points, a suitable method, measurement conditions, and interpretation and documentation. Any specialist services still required are offered for the specific outstanding task with their permissible scope.
Show the location, depth and proposed sequence of the affected work. For your project in Bergheim, send the foundation plan, proposed depths and existing ordnance reports with maps. Identify planned construction phases and alternatives still outstanding. This enables the specialist scope required to be discussed and considered in the subsequent programme. State the project address, plan revision and any file reference. Where different structures are involved, describe the respective work areas clearly. Include a common site plan and available details of elevation references. The further specialist enquiry then has a traceable connection with the actual project.
Include existing reports and identify handovers still outstanding. Bring together the findings required and their intended recipients. Note known utilities, interfering objects and restrictions on access. Before preparatory or further groundworks, the investigations and protective measures required are clarified. For area clearance or recovery tasks, the scope required and permissible commissioning are agreed with the competent authority. Newly received information is assigned to the respective project revision.
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.