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

Explosive ordnance surveying in Duisburg

An extension to an industrial building, new access and a service connection may affect different investigation areas. For your project in Duisburg, check which of these are already covered by existing results. FONTANA-EOD supports this comparison and preparation of supplementary specialist tasks.

Construction areas

Identify the construction area and connection routes.

Ongoing operations

Clarify access and routes remaining in use.

Records

Provide reports with their corresponding maps.

Assess the construction project

Show the actual working area rather than just the address

An extension to an industrial building may require access and utility works outside the building area. For your project in Duisburg, we compare all proposed interventions with existing maps and reports. Access and ongoing operations are included in preparation as separate prerequisites.

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.

Identify the Duisburg area for application and execution

Duisburg is an independent city in the Düsseldorf administrative district in North Rhine-Westphalia. The local map requirement and technical intervention description serve different purposes. Compile both documents traceably. A larger site may contain several investigation tasks. Clearly defined plans show which investigations are still needed for individual construction sections. State the specific city area, for example Altstadt and Innenhafen, Ruhrort, Meiderich and Beeck, Hamborn and Neumühl, Walsum, Rheinhausen, Homberg, Hochfeld, Friemersheim, or Wanheimerort and Dellviertel. Then mark the actual groundworks on the site plan. For projects in Oberhausen, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Dinslaken, Moers, Krefeld or Wesel, the responsible local authority and requirements are clarified separately.

Local context

The property address does not describe an investigation area

Unambiguous application area on a suitable map

For aerial photograph analysis, the City of Duisburg requires a clearly identifiable application area on an official base map or comparable map. A postal address alone is generally insufficient. Even where evidence already exists, check whether it covers the area in which works are subsequently planned.

Connections beyond the main construction area

If a warehouse is extended during ongoing operations, the access needed and a new service connection may extend beyond the construction area itself. Draw these areas separately on the plan. Whether explosive ordnance measures are necessary follows from the specific knowledge available and competent decisions, not from designation as port or commercial land.

Wartime effects and today’s construction sections along the Rhine

The Duisburg Museum of Cultural and Urban History documents the severe air raids of 14 and 15 October 1944. Its account connects aerial warfare with the city’s subsequent development and reconstruction. For a present-day project, specific historical findings are related to the property concerned. An event within the city establishes neither ordnance contamination of an individual area nor the investigation method suitable for it.

If records show former steel, smelting, rolling or chemical uses, port and freight handling facilities, or railway and shunting areas, their positions are compared with the planned interventions. In inner-city reconstruction areas, existing documents on filled areas, rubble zones or relocated soils may be relevant to planning. Old structures and new interventions may affect different areas. The investigation commission therefore describes the actual foundations, utilities and working volumes. For bridge, riverbank and dyke measures on the Rhine or Ruhr, identify landward works and interventions in water separately. Existing maps are retained with their original boundaries and compared with the new plans. The clear application area and technical task description remain different working documents. An earlier result for access does not extend to further excavations or an adjacent water area.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

Check maps and reports for correspondence

Compare the assessed area with today’s planned execution. Newly added routes or working areas remain visible. Missing appendices are identified before further agreements. Map information facilitates identification but is not in itself a technical investigation result.

Assess historical documents

Describe investigation conditions specifically

Existing utilities, surfaced areas and installations remaining in use may influence the approach. The task is therefore prepared using actual conditions. Site size alone does not determine a suitable method. State-initiated steps and permissible private supplementary services are distinguished before commissioning.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Show the boundaries of the construction task traceably

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

Keep a shared overview of subareas

A larger operational site may involve several cadastral parcels and different construction commissions. Draw the groundworks actually proposed clearly. The overview should show which areas existing documents cover. A property address or building name is insufficient to determine an investigation’s spatial boundaries.

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

Add access and the connection route

New access, a utility chamber or crossing may lie outside the extension area considered. Show these interventions with their depths. Relate the applicable results before execution. Work on neighbouring areas requires separate clarification even if it serves the same operational purpose.

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

Consider traffic areas remaining in use

Record routes and installations needed during investigation. Temporary restrictions belong in coordination with the operator. Organisational availability must, however, be distinguished from technical assessability. Even an accessible area may be affected by installations. Known conditions are communicated in full.

Coordinate the sequence and tasks
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 specialist ordnance contractor carries out and documents the agreed, legally permissible investigation scope. The respective competent authorities make the official decisions required. The documents and recipients needed are defined for the specific procedure. The technical report explains the specialist service carried out and its area, depth and method references; further construction planning considers this scope and requirements still outstanding.

Preparation

Prepare the scope and commission together

Whether an investigation task may be commissioned privately depends on the specific North Rhine-Westphalia procedure and applicable legal conditions. The permissible activity is clarified 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.

Define the specialist task

Coordinate preparatory work with the investigation

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

Clarify preparatory work in the programme

Agree a clear scope and schedule

A sound workflow distinguishes work already clarified technically from outstanding prerequisites. If an area will be accessible only in part, commissioning must take this into account. Handover and assessment of results also need time in the construction sequence. An enquiry therefore does not imply a blanket commitment on dates or cost. Specific coordination connects the described scope with access, documents, execution conditions and the date by which a decision is needed.

Discuss the scope and schedule

If the application area remains unclear

Preparation in Duisburg requires a clearly identifiable area on a suitable map base. An address alone often does not permit sufficient identification. Therefore show the ground interventions actually proposed spatially. Existing official communications and technical reports are compiled in full with their appendices. The documents should show which question has already been addressed and which findings are still needed. Missing information is identified specifically before the next commission. Further action follows the actual requirement and authorities responsible for it.

Before tendering further specialist work

Identify the area, depth, construction method and result required. Include existing analyses, official requirements and complete specialist reports. Providers need traceable plan revisions and known limitations so that scopes can be compared. State duties and permissible private additions remain separate. Also clarify access and responsibility for necessary preparatory work. A general equipment name describes neither the specific investigation task nor the legally permissible commission. Changes are passed to all affected parties before the work.

Before additional investigation points and deep ground interventions

Describe the proposed points or structures with their location and depth reference. A geotechnical investigation answers a different question from the specialist ordnance investigation needed beforehand. Existing results are compared with the actual groundworks. The limited North Rhine-Westphalia conditions apply to privately commissioned safety detection. Neither the wish for an early appointment nor a previous investigation of neighbouring areas replaces this clarification. The agreed scope and results documents required must be traceable for further planning.

When plans or the stage of work change

A specific suspected point and the remaining application area must be considered separately. Addressing the point does not establish the investigation status of all adjacent working volumes without further documents. Pass the current plan version and complete reports to the affected participants. Specialist planners determine which findings remain applicable and which additional task is outstanding. A change does not imply blanket repetition of all works; the next step relates to the area actually affected. Necessary official coordination is tracked before the relevant groundworks begin.

Tasks at the site

Show the construction area, connections and access on the plan

01

Industrial buildings and operational areas

Draw new foundations, excavations and changes to external areas separately. A large operational site is not automatically a single investigation task. Relate existing documents to retained installations, traffic routes and proposed extensions.

02

Access routes and utility connections

Check whether connection trenches, crossings and necessary setup areas are within the previous boundary. They may extend beyond the eventual building or commissioned main construction area. A plan with traceable connection points facilitates coordination between property owners and designers involved.

03

Structural elements near water

If a project concerns bank protection, sheet piling or other deep foundation elements, show the proposed interventions with an elevation reference. A landward investigation does not automatically answer questions about adjacent or deeper areas. Water-related tasks and additional requirements need separate clarification.

04

Access during ongoing operations

Describe which traffic areas remain needed, where access is restricted and which installations are retained. Before investigation, clarify how working areas can be reached and which preparations remain outstanding.

05

Bring together suspected ordnance, the construction task and the next commission

Assessment of a suspected explosive ordnance area in Duisburg starts with existing indications and the groundworks actually planned. For a project with a defined application area and separate suspected-point investigations, position, depth and current findings are considered together. An address alone does not replace clear spatial representation of the application area concerned. A historical indication, technical result and official assessment may answer different questions. The next step is determined from the findings still missing. State explosive ordnance assessment and permissible private supplementary tasks are distinguished using the local procedural status. A private commission neither extends the permitted activity nor replaces the tasks of the responsible authorities. Additional documents are obtained specifically rather than deriving complete findings from an unclear summary.

06

Compare surface investigation with depth of groundworks

A surface survey is assessed according to its investigation objective and the conditions actually covered. Utilities, reinforcement, surfacing and other interfering objects can affect the findings. Measurement at the surface does not automatically substantiate the entire ground volume for deeper construction work. A state-arranged area investigation remains separate from a permissible supplementary private task. The specific procedure is clarified before commissioning. Complete reports with their results areas, depths and limitations are required. Construction plans are compared with them. Where information is missing or the new groundworks extend beyond it, the specific specialist question still needs clarification before groundworks.

07

Assign borehole positions and safety detection on specialist grounds

For a proposed deep-ground survey or downhole detection, the findings needed, positions and depths of points, and existing findings are described. A geotechnical borehole has a different investigation purpose. Private downhole detection as part of specialist foundation engineering may be considered in North Rhine-Westphalia on areas without specific explosive ordnance contamination, subject to the further established prerequisites. The permissible scope of private activities is established for the specific project using these NRW requirements. Handling specific indications of ordnance contamination is clarified through the competent authorities. If a point moves or the depth changes, compare the changed scope before execution. The report shows which positions were actually addressed and which findings are possible under the documented conditions. A method name alone does not describe that scope.

08

Prepare ordnance specialist supervision of excavation for its specific task

A specialist excavation supervision service is considered in terms of its actual task and applicable requirements. It is not a blanket substitute for a necessary prior investigation. For the project in Duisburg, working areas, construction sequence and remaining limitations are described. Which supervision is technically and legally possible is justified and agreed before the affected works. Site management, the contractor and specialist personnel need clear responsibilities and reporting channels. If a change occurs, check whether the agreed task still matches the intervention. Documentation records the scope actually supervised.

09

Clarify the clearance objective and later use of the evidence

For explosive ordnance assessment before a construction project in Duisburg, agree which findings are needed before the next intervention. An area clearance operation concerns a defined area and a specific clearance objective; any further measures required are clarified through the relevant official procedure. A survey report or clearance record documents the task actually carried out and its limitations. Site management needs the complete plan attachments and appropriate plan revision. New areas, different depths or remaining interference are considered before further use. A commission described generally as complete does not extend the documented findings.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Bring owners and site management to the same status

The application maps and construction plans should match unambiguously. Differing area names are resolved before investigation. Record which plan version applies to which construction section. This facilitates handover between owners, operators and contractors. For the project file, initial information and existing historical documents are related to the cadastral parcel, route or construction area on the site plan. The investigation report connects measurement data, survey results and assessment of findings with the areas addressed and its plan appendices. If clearance works were performed, the clearance record establishes the actual clearance scope and results. The conclusion identifies which findings can be used for the proposed intervention and which tasks or limitations remain outstanding.

Distinguish landward and other tasks

If a project also concerns areas near or in water, describe them separately. Findings for land are not extended to adjacent areas. Position, depth and results needed remain identifiable in each case. Additional responsibilities and requirements are clarified using the specific task.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Before expanding the application area

Identify additional groundworks and compare them with existing communications. The enlarged area is not silently included in earlier findings. Further local processing needed remains to be clarified. Specialist planners need the complete maps for both the previous and new versions.

Before changing construction sections

Give the next contractor the appropriate reports with their appendices. The contractor must be able to identify which area and depth were actually covered. Unresolved connection routes or new excavations remain explicitly identified. A completion notification for the building is not an automatic statement about all site servicing works.

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 prior investigation cannot be carried out in full, assess whether a technically planned approach during construction is suitable. This includes the agreed investigation, assessment and communication of findings within the proposed work sequence. Mere visual observation of excavation does not meet the state of the art in preventive explosive ordnance clearance. Site management needs a clear description of when specialist works take place, how new findings are handled and which areas remain unresolved.

Agree the approach during construction
Technical assessment

Compare existing results with the construction area

Assessment and current plans

A historical aerial photograph analysis relates to the area assessed and available findings. Place the current plans alongside it and identify differences. A route added later or enlarged excavation is not automatically covered by earlier results.

Consider measurement conditions on site

For the surface survey, accessibility, terrain and existing metal installations are among the relevant factors. Utilities, reinforcement or other interference sources may affect the findings. Method selection must therefore consider the task and expected measurement conditions. Area size alone is insufficient for selection.

Distinguish official and private tasks

The survey is subject to the applicable responsibility rules in North Rhine-Westphalia. State-initiated investigations and limited private activities under Section 3 of the KampfmittelVO NRW must be distinguished. A privately agreed service scope neither replaces a necessary official decision nor extends the permissible tasks.

Next steps

Prepare, investigate and document groundworks

01

Describe the project and first groundworks

Initial coordination needs the exact project location, a current site plan and the work proposed first. State which findings planning needs and by when. Known missing documents or areas not yet accessible already belong in this enquiry.

02

Assign documents to the present-day project

Existing reports, plan attachments and official letters are compared with the actual areas and depths. It remains distinguishable whether an analysis, recommendation or investigation carried out is available. The respective plan revision and identifiable limitations are also recorded for further use.

Clearly mark the area concerned on a suitable map.

03

Supplement historical research and aerial imagery where needed

Where a historical question remains unresolved, clarify the need for further research or wartime aerial photograph analysis. Existing findings are considered. The assessment has a defined spatial reference and traceable question. A city history event alone does not decide which investigation the property concerned needs. Necessary historical research or aerial photograph analysis is performed for that question; the findings are related to the current construction area and investigation planning.

04

Select the method according to the findings required

Depth of groundworks, ground conditions, utilities, installations and accessibility determine specialist preparation. Different areas may require different tasks. The selected investigation scope should answer the outstanding question and identify its limitations. Prerequisites for carrying out the work are agreed in advance with planning, site management and, where applicable, the operator.

Also record chambers, connection routes and other additional interventions.

05

Coordinate surveying or supervision with the programme

The proposed specialist works are integrated into the work sequence and available construction sections. Protective measures, access and contacts must match actual execution. If conditions change, suitability of the approach is reassessed. Necessary supervision is agreed with its purpose and does not indiscriminately replace other preliminary investigation. The commissioned survey or technically planned supervision is carried out in the agreed working area. Measurement data, findings and identified limitations are recorded with position, depth and plan references.

06

Assess results and anomalies on specialist grounds

Measurement data are assessed in the context of the method, site conditions and investigation objective. A measurement anomaly is not automatically identified ordnance. Areas that cannot be investigated and further clarification needs remain identifiable. If a suspicious object is found, the prescribed reporting routes and measures of the competent authorities are observed.

Include file references and earlier reports with their appendices.

07

Hand over results with location and depth references

The report and associated plans document the work actually carried out and significant limitations. The documents needed are handed over together to the parties agreed. An isolated results line does not replace this context. The project record must make it possible to trace which areas, depths and planning evidence a finding relates to.

08

Compare the next groundworks with the results

Before subsequent work, it is checked whether its location, depth and conditions are covered by the results. Additional construction phases, relocated connections or changed structures are considered separately. Outstanding points receive a specific next step. The decision is recorded clearly with the plan revision used and those responsible.

Mark different areas and unresolved prerequisites explicitly.

Documentation

Relate reports to the respective subareas

Findings and their scope

A results report should show which subareas and depths were investigated and which limitations remain. For multiple cadastral parcels or phased works, matching labels in the plan, report and working documents are helpful. Pass on the corresponding appendices so that this relationship is retained.

Project responsibilities

For an official investigation of a suspected point, Duisburg’s form asks, among other things, about access permission, utilities and preparation status. This records prerequisites for the official measure. Retain the application separately from FONTANA-EOD’s report on the commissioned investigation in the project file; they serve different purposes.

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

Address and area are different information

A postal address helps identify the location. It describes neither the boundaries of a construction section nor its depths. Suitable maps and specific intervention plans are therefore needed. The documents should show which areas belong and which lie explicitly outside.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

Document preparation and results separately

Access permission, utility details and preparation status concern the prerequisites for a measure. The subsequent investigation report documents its technical result. Both documents remain complete and are labelled accordingly. Permission to enter is not evidence of subsurface conditions.

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 defining areas in Duisburg

Is an address sufficient for aerial photograph analysis in Duisburg?

Generally not. The city requires a suitable map with a clearly defined investigation area. Use the current municipal application guidance and add the proposed groundworks plan for the technical project enquiry.

Must service connections outside the main construction area be considered?

Yes, if groundworks are also proposed there. Check whether existing documents cover these interventions. If the utility extends beyond the area previously considered, that additional area must be identifiable in planning.

Is a port or industrial site automatically contaminated with explosive ordnance?

A land-use designation alone does not establish specific contamination. The findings concerning the property and planned intervention are decisive. Even within a larger site, documents may concern different areas and findings.

Can an investigation be used for several construction sections?

This must be checked using its documented scope. Position, depths and limitations must match the individual sections. If further areas or different interventions are planned, earlier findings do not automatically apply to that extension.

What should you do if a suspicious object is found?

Stop work in the affected area, keep your distance and do not touch or move the object. The City of Duisburg specifies immediate notification to the fire service or police on 112 or 110 respectively. Follow official instructions.

Why should multiple cadastral parcels remain individually identifiable?

Belonging to one operation does not mean that all areas have the same evidence. Clear identification helps compare the application area, investigation and actual groundworks.

What must be checked for additional access?

Whether the proposed groundworks lie within the areas and depths previously documented. Otherwise, the additional requirement is clarified before execution. Operational connection alone does not extend an investigation.

What determines investigation effort and costs?

The investigation objective, area, intervention depths and existing findings are decisive. Ground conditions, interference, accessibility and necessary preparatory works influence the work. Division into construction sections and the documentation scope needed are also considered in technical definition. The specific task and its prerequisites are clarified together for a quotation.

Project enquiry

Discuss your project in Duisburg

Draw subareas and connections

Send the current overview with excavations, utilities, access routes and respective proposed depths. Include earlier maps and results in full.

State operational conditions

Describe routes remaining in use, restricted access and the construction section sequence. Identify the responsible contacts for operations and site management. Communicate new installations, moved working areas and changed access before the appointment. Investigation is prepared using the conditions actually present; older descriptions must not conceal these changes.

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.