Project pathway
The quickest route to the right decision.

Excavations, utility trenches and foundations may extend to different depths in the ground. Ordnance investigation for your project in Essen therefore depends on the location and depth of each work activity. FONTANA-EOD supports you in comparing this information with existing investigation results and compiling the documents needed.
Describe the planned construction activity specifically.
Identify shafts, trenches and foundations individually.
Compare earlier reports with the new plans.
The city of Essen links the application for aerial imagery analysis to a specific construction activity involving ground intervention deeper than 80 centimetres. According to its guidance, an intention merely to buy or sell does not meet these application prerequisites. The enquiry needs the type of construction work and a clearly outlined area on a suitable map. This application rule does not establish that shallower groundworks are safe.
A utility trench, shaft and foundation may affect different ground areas and volumes. Show each ground intervention with its depth on the current plan and include existing analyses and technical reports. We compare the proposed working area and volume with the scope actually investigated and clarify the supplementary specialist task from this.
One example of our own work is the surface radar investigation at Essen station. The GPR service page explains the capabilities and limitations of this method. For your project enquiry we need the location and elevation reference of the specific construction work; the station case does not replace assessment of your property.

Essen is an independent city in the Düsseldorf administrative district in North Rhine-Westphalia. For local processing and the specialist enquiry, the proposed construction activity must be described clearly. Supplement the location with the respective groundworks areas, depths and findings available. Regional allocation does not replace this information. Property documents without specific construction plans may raise different clarification needs from work already defined. Identify the specific part of the city, for example Altenessen, Nordviertel, Westviertel, Steele, Kray, Rüttenscheid, Holsterhausen, Frohnhausen, Katernberg, Schonnebeck, Borbeck, Dellwig, Kupferdreh or Heisingen, and mark the groundworks boundaries on the site plan. For projects in Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Oberhausen, Bottrop or Velbert, the responsible local authority and requirements for the respective project location are clarified separately.
The city of Essen links the application for aerial imagery analysis to a specific construction activity. According to its procedural guidance, an intention merely to buy or sell is insufficient. In an enquiry, therefore, tell us whether you are already planning specific groundworks or initially want to assess existing information about the property.
If an extension with new connections is planned on a commercial property, excavation across an area, deeper shafts and individual foundations may be involved together. Describe these activities separately. General terms such as external works or civil engineering do not identify which ground areas and volumes need investigation.
The city of Essen provides historical maps and aerial imagery from different periods. Initial imagery from 1926 was followed by another aerial survey in 1943. The city chronicle documents severe destruction of the city centre and other areas by air raids during the Second World War. For a present-day project, such historical findings are connected spatially with current construction areas. Earlier buildings, routes and land-use boundaries may differ from the current plan. Historical image information and specialist ordnance analysis retain their respective scope of findings; an individual image does not document a technical investigation of the construction area as it is today.
For a new building or extension, historical areas are compared with the current site plan. Shifted property boundaries and subsequent ground changes remain traceable. Supplement existing technical reports with their original attachments. These must identify which area and depth were actually investigated. If new connections or working areas lie outside that scope, the further task is clarified before the groundworks. The connection between an old document and present-day construction remains necessary even where the address has not changed. If existing records show railway, shunting or route infrastructure, former steel, heavy or armaments industry, or factory, storage or military uses, their location and later changes are related to the present groundworks. For conversion sites, city-centre and reconstruction areas, and road and utility corridors, available details of earlier structures, backfilling and relocated soils are also assessed.
Check which area and task an earlier report describes. Present-day structures may differ even though the same property address is used. Official information and technical results are considered together. The local application prerequisite does not establish that groundworks not covered are safe on specialist grounds.
Assess historical documentsMethod selection follows from the scope of findings required and actual conditions. Installations, access and different depths are considered. Before a private commission, the conditions under state law are also clarified. Work is coordinated with the state measures and decisions required and the clarified procedural status.
Compare investigation methods
Along a utility route, an individual shaft may differ significantly from the other groundworks. Its excavation and the working area and volume needed therefore belong separately on the plan. A continuous line drawing does not show these differences. Compare existing investigations with each structure before using a result for the entire connection.
Provide specialist supervision of excavation
If the surface is changed before foundation work, earlier and new depth information must correspond. Record the respective elevation reference in the documents. The term below ground level alone can be ambiguous across different plan revisions. Missing reference points are identified as outstanding details and are not replaced by an assumed elevation.
Document findings and their limitations
Even small foundation footprints can constitute ground interventions in their own right. Assign additional proposed foundations, for example, to the current site plan. What matters is the ground area and volume affected and its depth, rather than its share of the entire property area. An earlier report is checked to establish whether it actually covers this specific task.
Compare specialist services for additional foundationsFor commissioned activities, the applicable specialist requirements and questions of permits, qualifications and responsibilities are clarified. The scope of services actually proposed is decisive. The qualifications and responsibilities required in each case are assigned to the specific tasks and interfaces.
Risk assessment, work areas and communication must suit the proposed activities. Ordnance specialist works are coordinated with the other construction activities. Operational organisation, traffic safety and other specialist technical inspections retain their own responsible parties. Joint coordination brings the information together without equating the different tasks.
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.
For the aerial imagery analysis in Essen a specific construction activity and the groundworks areas affected are identified. The application is submitted to the public order office. The North Rhine-Westphalia Kampfmittelverordnung, in particular Section 3, assigns state duties and the conditions for certain private activities. The existing procedural status is therefore clarified before a specialist commission.
For clearance planning the construction task and result required are considered together. Suitable geophysical investigations are selected according to site conditions; the documentation connects work carried out, spatial references and results. For private downhole detection and explosive ordnance clearance during construction, the requirements of the official North Rhine-Westphalia guidance are taken into account. Occupational safety and professional ordnance surveying during construction are coordinated with the actual work sequence.
The BFR Kampfmittelräumung apply directly to the federal properties specified in them. For other projects, they can serve as specialist guidance for planning, investigation and documentation. The relevant local requirements, responsibilities and specific commission agreed are also considered.
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.
Before private commissioning, the specific conditions of the North Rhine-Westphalia Kampfmittelverordnung and the official guidance are checked. These include the information held by the authorities, the proposed activity and authorisations required for it. The permissible specialist task is agreed with its limitations and necessary coordination.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 taskRequired 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 programmeA reliable programme distinguishes work already clarified on specialist grounds from outstanding prerequisites. If an area will be only partly accessible, this is considered during commissioning. Handover and assessment of results are also included in the programme. For coordination of timing and effort, the described scope, access, available documents, construction conditions and date by which a decision is needed are brought together.
Discuss the scope and scheduleThe city of Essen links the application for aerial imagery analysis to a specific construction activity; an intention merely to buy or sell does not meet this prerequisite. Describe the actual planning status and use already proposed. Existing official letters and technical reports are brought together in full with their attachments. The documents should identify which question has already been addressed and which findings are still needed. Missing details are identified specifically before the next commission. Further steps depend on actual needs and the authorities responsible for them.
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.
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.
The new construction area is compared with the area submitted for analysis. A laterally shifted connection may affect a different ground area and volume from the excavation originally shown. Pass the current plan revision and complete reports to those affected. Specialist planning determines which findings still fit and which additional task remains outstanding. A change does not automatically mean repeating all work; the next step is related to the area actually affected. Any official coordination required is carried forward before the relevant groundworks begin.
Show the intended surface condition and planned earth movements. If the ground surface is to change, depth information needs an unambiguous reference. One depth figure for the property may conceal differences between individual groundworks areas.
Alongside the utility route, identify shafts, crossings and connection points. These may have different proposed dimensions or depths from the rest of the route. Existing utility plans help work preparation but must be distinguished from ordnance investigation evidence.
Individual point interventions should also be separately identifiable in the plans. State the foundation type intended and, where relevant, the construction method proposed. The small footprint of a structure alone does not establish whether existing investigation results cover the ground area and volume affected.
Assign earlier reports to their respective areas and tasks at that time. Mark structures being retained and new ground interventions. For proposed reuse of an industrial, commercial or infrastructure site, the specific findings remain decisive; a land-use designation alone is not evidence of ordnance contamination.
Assessment of an area of suspected ordnance in Essen begins with existing indications and the groundworks actually planned. For a new construction project with official aerial imagery analysis and a changed construction area, location, depth and current findings are brought together. Essen's application prerequisites are distinguished from the specialist findings for the ground area and volume actually affected. A historical indication, technical result and official assessment may answer different questions. The next step follows from the findings still missing. State ordnance assessment and permissible supplementary private tasks are assigned according to the local procedural status. The authorities responsible coordinate any further measures needed. Additional documents are obtained specifically so that further planning builds on complete results and their associated attachments.
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.
For a proposed deep-ground survey or downhole detection, the findings required, location and depth of the points, and existing findings are described. A geotechnical borehole has a different investigation purpose. Within the North Rhine-Westphalia framework, private downhole detection is considered only under the specified prerequisites and with a limited scope of activity. The permissible private scope of activity is clarified for the specific project according to these North Rhine-Westphalia conditions. Handling specific indications of ordnance contamination is clarified through the competent authorities. If a point is relocated or the depth changes, the changed scope is compared before the work. The report shows which positions were actually investigated and what findings are possible under the documented conditions. A method name alone does not describe this scope.
An ordnance specialist supervision of excavation is considered with its actual task and applicable prerequisites. It is not a blanket substitute for a necessary advance investigation. For the Essen project, work areas, construction sequence and remaining limitations are described. The supervision that can be considered on specialist and legal grounds is justified and agreed before the affected work. Site management, the contractor and specialist personnel need clear responsibilities and reporting routes. If changes occur, it is checked whether the agreed task still fits the groundworks. Documentation records the scope actually supervised.
For ordnance investigation before a construction project in Essen, the findings needed before the next groundworks are agreed. An area clearance 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.
The planners involved should use the same elevation references and clearly identified plan revisions. Differences are clarified before construction. For the investigation, what matters is the groundworks actually intended in the final plans. A common overview makes differences visible but does not replace the associated construction plans and reports.
Site management needs the documents appropriate to each trench, shaft or foundation. A general report title is insufficient for this allocation. Maps, depth references and limitations are retained when documents are passed on. Measurement data, survey results and assessment of findings belonging to the commission remain connected with the complete report and its plan attachments. After clearance work has been carried out, the clearance record, including its scope, results and remaining limitations, is assigned to the trench, shaft or foundation area actually treated. Additional or changed structures are compared with the documented scope again before the work.
Describe the groundworks so that different depths and areas are identifiable. Specialist planning can then assign existing evidence and identify outstanding needs. One general item for the entire property may conceal different tasks. The actual service scope is prepared using the complete plans.
Compare the changed plan with previous results. Deeper foundations or a relocated shaft may extend beyond the documented area. The new revision is passed to those affected before construction. Outstanding investigation questions explicitly remain part of preparation.
Historical aerial photograph assessment and other old records help place the basis for suspicion in its spatial context. The available images, their evidential value and the limits of the area considered matter. The absence of an identifiable indication must be distinguished from a technically surveyed ground area. The assessment is considered together with the planned intervention and other available findings. It can support the choice of a survey, but is not a measurement of the present-day subsurface or confirmation for all future works.
Understand aerial photograph assessmentMagnetometric methods detect magnetic anomalies. Whether they can address the specific survey task depends, among other things, on the expected objects, ground conditions, interference and required survey area. Fences, utilities or existing structures may affect interpretation. A measurement signal is therefore not described as ordnance solely because of its strength. Method, interpretation and any further investigation are planned as a connected specialist task.
Understand the scope of magnetometryElectromagnetic 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 surveyingUnder 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 limitationsFor 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 interventionsIf a necessary advance investigation cannot be completed in full, a suitable approach during construction is agreed with those responsible under the applicable prerequisites. It includes planned investigation, specialist interpretation and communication of findings in relation to construction progress. DGUV specialist information explicitly distinguishes this from visual observation of excavated material alone, which does not reflect the state of the art. Site management needs a clear description of which investigation sections will be addressed before the next groundworks and which areas remain unresolved.
Agree the approach during constructionThe historical aerial photograph analysis is applied for through the public order office in Essen. In its current guidance, the city specifies ground intervention deeper than 80 centimetres as an application prerequisite. This procedural information is not a specialist assurance that shallower work would be free from ordnance. Unclear cases must be clarified with the competent authority before groundworks.
The survey must be planned according to the proposed task and conditions. Deeper shafts or foundation elements may require a different scope of findings from adjoining areas. What matters is which areas the selected methods can actually assess and which limitations remain.
Supplementary supervision during construction must not replace incomplete preparation as a blanket measure. Prerequisites under state law and the coordination required remain decisive. Therefore describe which state steps have already taken place and which supplementary private activity can be considered under the applicable conditions.
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.
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.
Compile the project purpose and actual groundworks.
Where a historical question remains outstanding, the need for further research or wartime aerial imagery analysis is clarified. Existing findings are taken into account. The analysis receives a defined spatial reference and a traceable question. A local historical event alone does not determine which investigation the property needs.
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.
Identify shafts, foundations and other differing ground interventions.
The proposed specialist work is incorporated into the sequence and available construction phases. Protective measures, access and contacts must fit the actual work. If conditions change, suitability of the approach is reassessed. Any supervision required is agreed with its purpose and does not replace other preliminary investigation as a blanket measure. The commissioned, professionally suitable survey or planned supervision is carried out within the agreed work area. Measurement data, findings and identified limitations are recorded with location, depth and plan references.
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.
Compare official notifications and reports with the plan.
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.
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.
Allow for the coordination and supplementary investigations required.
For construction, the documents should identify which areas and depths were covered. This is particularly important where a property involves several ground interventions of different depths. A report for a utility route cannot be transferred to a new shaft or later foundations without comparison.
FONTANA-EOD documents the results of the investigation commissioned and identifies its limitations. An existing report may help later planning if its attachments remain complete and the new task is compared with it. Also observe official decisions and outstanding requirements. A property address does not mean that the report covers every area and depth of that property.
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 taskWe 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.
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.
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.
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.
A procedural depth figure describes a local application prerequisite. It does not provide findings for a ground area and volume actually investigated. Use of a report remains governed by its documented area, depth and limitations. Unclear cases are clarified with the competent authority before work.
Understand investigation reports and their limitationsA project may contain several separate groundworks areas with different conditions. The maximum depth is therefore only one of several details. Assign it to the relevant structure and also describe the other work. Only this context enables a traceable comparison.
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. Identify the findings still missing for your project and the documents already available. On this basis, the appropriate, legally permissible specialist service is agreed with its scope of results.
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 documentationAccording to the city's guidance, an intention merely to buy or sell is insufficient for this application. The city requires a specific construction activity. If plans are already available, they should be described with the proposed groundworks and current procedural status.
No. The local application prerequisite does not establish whether ordnance is present in the ground. If the situation is unclear or indications are available, the approach must be clarified with the competent authorities before work. Safety cannot be inferred from a depth figure alone.
A shaft, utility trench and foundation may reach different depths in the ground. The details must be assigned to the respective groundworks and an understandable elevation reference. Otherwise, it remains unclear which findings are required for which part of the project.
This is possible if the documented results cover the new task. Compare location, depths and limitations with the current plans. Assess new or changed groundworks separately; the old report does not automatically apply to them.
Keep your distance, stop work in the affected area and leave the object where it is without disturbing it. The city of Essen refers to emergency numbers 110 and 112. Notify the competent authorities immediately and follow their instructions.
Its location, excavation and depth are compared with existing results. Belonging to a utility route already considered does not automatically mean the shaft is fully covered too.
Include the elevation plans used and their respective plan revisions. Identify the basis of each depth figure. Missing or contradictory details remain visible until clarified.
For a private specialist service, the permissible task and findings required are first defined. Area, depths of groundworks, ground conditions, interfering objects and accessibility influence investigation effort. Preparatory work, subdivision into construction phases, interpretation and documentation scope are considered when agreeing a quotation. Official services required and their conditions are clarified with the competent authorities.
State the project address and plot and include a current site plan. Mark the construction site, route or individual borehole positions with their groundworks areas. Describe trenches, shafts and foundations with their respective maximum depths and elevation references. Add proposed ground surface changes and particularly deep interventions that differ from the rest of the construction site.
Send aerial imagery analyses, official notifications and conditions, and earlier specialist reports with their maps and attachments. Utility plans, ground investigation and as-built documents supplement preparation. Identify known changes to the property, the current construction phase, the decision status needed and the proposed date. State which earthworks are due to begin first and which areas are not yet accessible. Outstanding official steps and necessary preparatory work are agreed with those responsible.
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.