Technical map of the administrative district of Arnsberg, marking Arnsberg as a location for ordnance investigation and surveying by FONTANA-EOD

Explosive ordnance surveying in Bochum

Does your planning permission in Bochum include an explosive ordnance assessment condition? Before the affected groundworks, clarify which investigation remains outstanding and which area it concerns. FONTANA-EOD supports comparison of official communications with your plans and preparation of the commissioned specialist tasks.

Conditions

Clarify outstanding assessments before groundworks.

Construction tasks

Identify structural elements, areas and intervention depths.

Documentation

Pass results on in full.

Discuss the construction projectExplosive ordnance assessment in North Rhine-Westphalia
Assess the construction project

Check the condition, commissioned service and result separately

A construction condition must be specifically traceable for the groundworks concerned. For your project in Bochum, we compare the communication with current plans and existing results. We then clarify which specialist works are still needed, what must be prepared and which limitations apply to the result.

Project references

Selected project examples

Project site

Connect the site with the specific construction task

Regional map for North Rhine-Westphalia with the state coat of arms, a tablet, safety helmet and notebook.

Consider Bochum’s processing procedure for the specific project

Bochum is an independent city in the Arnsberg administrative district in North Rhine-Westphalia. The local information on the planning application procedure provides the framework for further coordination. Include the communications you actually received and the current plan with your enquiry. The communications available and services completed determine the processing status of your individual project. What matters is which requirements for the specific groundworks remain outstanding. State the precise project location, for example the city centre, Altenbochum, Wiemelhausen and Ehrenfeld, Wattenscheid, Hamme and Hordel, Hofstede, Langendreer and Werne, Linden and Dahlhausen, Gerthe and Harpen, or Höntrop. Then mark the actual working areas on the site plan. For projects in Herne, Gelsenkirchen, Essen, Hattingen, Witten or Castrop-Rauxel, requirements are clarified with the respective local authority responsible for that different project location.

North Rhine-Westphalia
Local context

Planning applications and historical information in Bochum

Assessment within the planning application procedure

According to the city’s information, incoming planning applications in Bochum are forwarded to the Ordnungsamt for explosive ordnance assessment. It checks the need for action and, where necessary, initiates aerial photograph analysis by the state explosive ordnance disposal service in Arnsberg. Further assessments required may become conditions of planning permission. The severe air raid of 4 November 1944 destroyed large parts of central Bochum. For a present-day construction project, available aerial photographs and records are considered together with the property location and proposed groundworks. Where documents identify former mining and steel industry, factory or storage sites, railway or shunting areas, their locations are compared with the intervention. Later changes of use, reconstruction, fill and altered ground levels are considered in that assignment. For city-centre and infill projects and road and utility corridors, existing findings are related to the structural elements and depths actually affected.

Communications for those carrying out the works

Pass the complete communication to the designers and companies preparing or carrying out the affected ground intervention. They need to know which area is meant, which measure is due and what has already been completed. A note in the permission folder alone is insufficient.

Working together

Distinguish the tasks of client, designers and specialist contractor

Client and operator

The client describes the project and provides the existing project documents. The operator adds the requirements for use, access and timing. A coordinating contact agrees the assigned tasks with those responsible. Before commissioning, a clear record is made of which information is missing, who will obtain it and which decision the results are intended to inform.

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 company addresses the agreed investigation and documentation scope. Official requirements and decisions are clarified with the respective responsible authorities. The documents needed for a specific procedure depend on the location and project. The technical report describes the specialist work performed with the areas, depths and limitations of findings. Official decisions are assigned to their respective procedures.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

Identify the investigation required

An assessment and an on-site investigation answer different questions. Therefore read the complete requirement and previous processing status. Only then is the further requirement described. Execution is coordinated with the necessary state measures and decisions and the clarified procedural status.

Assess historical documents

Agree the private supplementary service clearly

The task follows the specific intervention, existing findings and applicable NRW requirements. Identify the findings needed and known conditions. A general commission for the property is not unambiguous without this information. The subsequent report is related precisely to that agreed scope.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Derive specific project tasks from the communication

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

Compile the complete requirement

Pass the official communication with all appendices to the participants. A condition heading often does not fully describe the spatial scope. Maps and the corresponding plan version assist identification. Unclear information is clarified with the responsible authority before a service agreement and is not replaced by assumptions.

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

Identify the construction commissions affected

The excavation, utility construction and external works may be carried out by different companies. For each commission, check which requirement concerns its working area. Connection points deserve particular attention. A shared permission does not mean that every company automatically has all the relevant documents.

Specialist services and investigation tasks
Illustration: two people review plans and documents at a table beside a construction vehicle.

Keep completion status traceable

Record which investigation was required, which service commissioned and which result actually handed over. Distinguish these statuses. An awarded commission does not yet establish a completed assessment. Outstanding tasks remain assigned to the respective construction section even if other works have progressed further.

Coordinate the sequence and tasks
Preparation

Prepare the scope and commission together

The next technical step follows the result needed, existing findings and conditions of the area. Which activity may be privately commissioned within the specific NRW procedure is clarified separately before an agreement.

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.

Where there are several processing stages, the date of the official response, underlying plans and scope of the existing investigation are considered together. The enquiry also identifies the outstanding decision, for example preparation of foundations, a utility trench or a later construction section. Missing appendices are obtained before the technical task is established. For quotation coordination, this establishes which task has already been clarified and which part actually remains to be addressed.

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 sequence distinguishes work already technically clarified from outstanding requirements. If an area will be only partly accessible, commissioning must consider this. Results handover and assessment also require time in the construction sequence. An enquiry therefore does not imply a blanket commitment on timing or cost. Specific coordination connects the described scope with access, documents, execution conditions and the decision date needed. Identify the proposed construction sections and their respective prerequisites for scheduling. State when areas become accessible, which routes must remain clear and whether ongoing operations limit working hours. Material storage, site facilities or changed access routes are considered in their actual condition. Also establish when the required documents should be available and who coordinates access with the participants. Technical planning can then relate to a specific execution situation.

Discuss the scope and schedule
Tasks at the site

Construction works affected by the condition

01

Excavation and foundations

Show the planned excavation with its depth and foundation elements. Check whether official communications concern the same plan version. If the foundations and ground volume to be investigated change, the investigation plan must also be reviewed. An adjustment only to the construction drawing is then insufficient. The comparison also includes individual deeper sections, working areas, excavation support and interventions proposed for its installation. If the documents show only the earlier building layout, identify the different working areas. Specialist planners and site management need a spatially traceable relationship to each plan. The affected groundworks are prepared only on the basis of the clarified investigation status and relevant requirements.

02

Utility and transport works

Separately awarded civil engineering works also need the documents relevant to their area. Mark connection trenches, chambers and crossings. Existing evidence for the building does not automatically establish that adjacent utility or transport areas were also covered. In addition to the main route, record individual service connections, trial excavations and construction methods proposed for crossings. Additional deeper sections at chambers or handover points also matter. Existing utilities and confined working areas are considered when selecting a suitable investigation method. If the route changes during construction, the responsible participants receive the new alignment with its corresponding elevation reference and plan version.

03

Alterations to existing operational sites

For a change of use, check whether older reports also cover the changed building positions and new groundworks. Arrange the documents by area and investigation task. Previous use as an industrial or operational site replaces neither specific indications of ordnance contamination nor assessment of the current construction project.

04

Multiple contractors

Identify who consolidates official communications and hands them to the contractors. Inform all affected contractors of outstanding tasks. Clarify responsibility particularly at connection points and interfaces between construction sections.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Pass communications on centrally

Identify a responsible project contact for official responses and forwarding appendices. Contractors need the same relevant version. Supplementary requirements are communicated before the affected work step. A brief oral account must not lose spatial boundaries or conditions.

The documented evidence chain includes the communication concerned, corresponding maps, supplementary requirements and responses to questions already clarified. Identify the version used and time of handover. A technical assessment is connected with the data on which it actually relies. For unresolved subareas, limited depth findings or investigations only possible later, the next task remains explicitly identified. Site management and subsequent contractors can then check the described status for their own working area.

The project file connects the measurement data, survey results and assessment of findings belonging to the commission with the complete report and its plan appendices. Following clearance work, the clearance record with its scope, results and limitations of findings supplements this evidence chain for the area actually addressed.

Update the construction plans

If the excavation or foundations change, compare the new plan with the documented scope. Further connection trenches may also be relevant. Make the change accessible to all affected participants. Earlier results retain their original reference. For a change, compare the geometry previously addressed with the new working volume, intervention depths and proposed construction method. Give the specialist company the revised drawing with a description of the change. File the technical response together with the updated plan. Further coordination can then establish whether existing findings remain applicable or supplementary specialist works are needed before the changed intervention.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Before awarding another construction commission

Check which conditions and results apply to the new working area. Base coordination on the corresponding maps and reports. Outstanding steps are considered in the construction sequence. A private appointment cannot anticipate fulfilment of an unresolved official requirement. For the service specification, compile the proposed groundworks and existing findings traceably. Specialist planners identify the areas and depths to be addressed, known interference areas and necessary access conditions. Existing results are provided with their corresponding appendices. Outstanding requirements and necessary coordination are assigned to the affected work steps. If the plans change during award preparation, that version is passed to the specialists involved in good time.

Coordinate the construction phase with us

Before approving the construction documents

Compare the final plans with the existing investigation results. Different areas and greater depths are considered separately. The contractor receives the necessary appendices and knows the remaining limitations. A general note in the permission folder does not replace that handover.

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

Which investigation is required

Aerial photograph analysis or on-site investigation

A historical aerial photograph analysis and a required on-site assessment have different functions. The complete documents must show which step is due for the project. Unclear wording or missing appendices should be clarified with the responsible authority before a service agreement.

Areas, depths and measurement conditions

The surface survey depends on conditions such as existing installations, terrain and accessibility. Deeper foundations may create a different investigation task. A blanket commission for the property should therefore be supplemented with the position, intervention depths and specific findings needed.

Prerequisites for supervision during construction

A specialist supervision service during construction is not a general substitute for prior investigations. In North Rhine-Westphalia, permissibility and task definition follow the applicable requirements and official status. Mere observation of excavation must not be equated with methodically planned explosive ordnance clearance.

Next steps

Prepare, investigate and document construction projects

01

Review the project enquiry and existing documents

Compile conditions, appendices and the corresponding plan version. In the initial project enquiry, describe the proposed groundworks and decision the result is intended to prepare. Check existing communications, aerial photograph analyses and technical reports for plan version, spatial coverage, investigated depths and outstanding questions concerning today’s construction task. Also establish which appendices are missing and which processing steps are already complete. Identify the roles of the client, designers, contractor and responsible authorities for further coordination.

02

Coordinate the construction commission, historical information and method

Identify affected structural elements, depths and subareas. If existing historical information is insufficient for the specific question, the research needed and, where applicable, aerial photograph analysis are agreed and carried out for the defined question. Available images, former uses and documented changes are related spatially to the planned interventions. The findings inform investigation planning. The suitable method is selected on technical grounds using the findings sought, ground composition, interference and accessible working areas. Necessary state steps and the permissibility of a private specialist task are considered.

03

Carry out the investigation and assess findings

Clarify outstanding questions and necessary investigations with the responsible participants. Once the procedural status has been clarified, the commissioned and technically suitable investigation is performed in the agreed working area. For planned supervision, investigation and the construction sequence are coordinated accordingly. Measurement data, findings and identified limitations are recorded with position, depth and plan references. Technical assessment considers the investigation objective, method used, data quality and existing interference. Anomalies and unresolved areas are described so that participants can agree the next necessary step.

04

Document results and coordinate subsequent works

Provide reports with appendices before the next construction section. The report connects the actual investigation scope, assessment, site and plan appendices and remaining limitations of findings. Areas not addressed or with limited assessability remain spatially identifiable. The client and site management receive the documented status for further planning. Before the subsequent ground intervention, outstanding requirements and any supplementary investigations are clarified with the responsible participants. When contractors change, the same relevant version is passed on.

Documentation

Document the requirement, commission and result

Findings and their scope

Record in the project file what the authority requires, which specialist service was commissioned and which result is available. FONTANA-EOD documents the scope and limitations of the commissioned investigation. Findings for a subarea continue to apply only to that area after the report is passed on. The report traceably describes the method used, work period and investigated areas. Plans and results illustrations receive a reference to the project plan used. Assessment of findings is distinguished from outstanding questions. If older documents are used for interpretation, the relevant status remains identifiable. Related documents are clearly labelled and handed over together so that site management and subsequent contractors can use the technical findings with the correct appendices.

Project responsibilities

If the excavation, utility construction and external works are carried out at different times, the respective documents should reach the correct contractor. Keep plans and reports together. Compare later changes with existing results so that the next construction phase is not based on an outdated investigation scope.

Working approach

How FONTANA-EOD works

Document the agreed specialist service clearly

We assess the planned groundworks against the available documents and their design revision. Before attending site, we agree with you what needs to be investigated, which areas are accessible and what findings are required. If the design or site conditions change, we check whether the agreed scope remains appropriate. The report states what was actually investigated and the limits of the findings. This allows designers and site management to see which findings they can use and where questions remain.

Discuss the investigation task

The task before the equipment

We first establish the investigation objective: which question must it answer? We then select a technically suitable method. The availability of a particular device or experience on a similar neighbouring site is not enough to justify the choice of method on its own.

Keep limitations visible

Inaccessible areas and limited conclusions are identified. They do not disappear into a total area figure. Designers and site management can then decide specifically which areas still need attention and when a suitable survey becomes possible.

Clarify changes before intervening in the ground

A new location, additional depth or different construction method is compared with previous results. A familiar project name does not replace this comparison. Feedback is provided before the affected work so that an outstanding question can be included in the sequence.

Hand over the report and plan together

The technical conclusion remains connected to its location references and appendices. A brief summary helps orientation but does not replace the documented survey scope. This basis is retained even if site management or contractors change.

Understand the results

Use technical statements for the next decision

Relate the commission and investigation result

The commission describes an agreed activity. Only execution and assessment produce the documented findings. The actual reports with their limitations are therefore required for subsequent construction. An order confirmation must not be passed on as evidence of a completed investigation.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

Read the permission with its conditions

Planning permission and the requirements it contains belong together. Which further steps are needed before groundworks is checked using the complete communication. Referring to the permission alone may leave outstanding investigation tasks unnoticed.

Understand the service scope
Design and findings

Documents for the next construction decision

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

Historical evidence and the current design

Aerial photograph interpretation is related to the actual groundworks. Its purpose and geographical scope remain distinct from a technical investigation of the ground as it is today.

Understand aerial photograph assessment
Illustration: two people review plans and documents at a table beside a construction vehicle.

Specialist reports for site management

The findings, their locations and limitations are handed over together. This makes clear to those carrying out the work which area has been investigated and which task remains outstanding.

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

Questions about construction conditions and investigations in Bochum

Who initiates official aerial photograph analysis in Bochum?

According to the city’s information, the Ordnungsamt checks the need for action within the planning application procedure and, where necessary, requests analysis by the state explosive ordnance disposal service in Arnsberg. A technical enquiry to FONTANA-EOD is distinct from this.

Can all groundworks begin immediately after planning permission is granted?

Planning permission alone does not answer this. Check the specific conditions and whether required assessments have already taken place. Coordinate the proposed groundworks accordingly and clarify outstanding questions with the responsible authorities.

What does a contractor need from the project file?

The communications, plans and investigation reports applicable to its working area, including appendices. They should show the affected areas, depths and outstanding tasks. An oral summary does not replace this spatial and substantive identification.

How are later plan changes considered?

Compare changed structural elements and interventions with the documented investigation scope. New areas or greater depths may require further clarification. Record which plan version participants hold and which version existing results relate to.

What should happen if suspected ordnance is found during the work?

Stop work in the affected area, keep your distance and leave the object untouched. Notify the police immediately on 110 and follow their instructions. Do not attempt to investigate or recover the object yourself.

Who should distribute supplementary official requirements within the project?

A responsible contact person should be identified for this. They ensure that site management, specialist planners and affected contractors receive the relevant communication with its appendices.

What determines effort, costs and commission scope?

For a private specialist service, the permissible task scope and result needed are clarified first. Area, intervention depths, ground conditions, interference and accessibility influence investigation effort. Preparatory works, construction sections, assessment and documentation scope are also considered when agreeing the quotation. An order confirmation establishes the agreed service, not an investigation result. Outstanding execution, assessment and necessary decisions must continue to be considered in the sequence.

How are separate construction commissions compared with a shared condition?

The affected areas and interventions are assigned to each commission. The respective reports and outstanding requirements remain identifiable. Particularly at connection points, check whether an area between commissions remains unresolved.

Project enquiry

Clarify construction conditions for your project in Bochum

Include complete communications

Send the conditions with maps and appendices and the current construction plan. Add investigation results already received and plan changes. Include the project address and cadastral parcel details so that the documents can be assigned to the correct property. Arrange documents by their respective working area and mark superseded versions. For changed structural elements, compare the previous status with the current intervention. If several companies are involved, state who leads coordination and who needs the appendices for the next construction section.

Describe the next construction commission

Identify the affected areas, depths and companies involved. State which steps are actually complete and which remain outstanding. For drilling and foundation works, a point list and clear illustration of proposed depths are helpful. For routes, identify the alignment, connection points and different deeper sections. Add available utility and as-built plans, ground investigation information and existing aerial photograph analyses and technical reports. State the proposed construction period and date when the technical findings are needed. Further preparation also requires knowing which areas are already accessible and which can only be addressed in a later construction section.

GPR on a construction site
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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