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

Explosive ordnance survey and disposal in Hamm

Is the task an initial enquiry, investigation of a construction area or a suspected location already identified? The city of Hamm offers different applications for these tasks. FONTANA-EOD supports you in preparing the specialist services required and documents the investigation commissioned with its results and limitations.

Enquiry

Identify responses available and outstanding questions.

Area

Define the investigation area clearly.

Indication of suspected ordnance

Retain the designation and location from the notification.

Assess the construction project

Distinguish information, area investigation and individual locations

The application options in Hamm concern different tasks. For your project, we consider the responses available together with the actual groundworks. A result for an identified individual location is not used as an investigation of the entire construction area.

Project site

Connect the site with the specific construction task

Schematic map with the North Rhine-Westphalia coat of arms, beside a tablet, safety helmet and notebook.

Consider the Hamm fire service as the designated authority

The three municipal service pages identify the fire service as responsible. For the ordnance certificate and surface and excavation detection services, Civil Protection and Operational Planning is also listed. Each enquiry is linked with existing documents and the actual groundworks. This does not establish a blanket requirement to use every application type offered. Hamm is an independent city in the Arnsberg administrative district in North Rhine-Westphalia. For enquiries from Hamm-Mitte and the station area, Heessen, Bockum-Hövel, Pelkum, Herringen, Rhynern or Uentrop, the specific project address is decisive. For Ahlen, Bergkamen, Kamen, Werl, Unna, Lippetal and other places in the eastern Ruhr area or surrounding Westphalian area, the respective municipal responsibility is clarified separately.

Local context

Ordnance certificates, area detection and suspected locations

Different online applications in Hamm

The city of Hamm service portal lists an ordnance enquiry under the title Kampfmittelbescheinigung, or ordnance certificate. Separate online applications are also available for surface or excavation detection and for surveying locations of suspected unexploded ordnance or other indications of suspected ordnance. The fire service is named as responsible in each case; for the first two services, Civil Protection and Operational Planning is also listed.

Identify the actual investigation status

Not every property must undergo the same measures. Outstanding questions and documents already available are decisive. A result for an individual location does not automatically apply to the rest of the construction area. Also check whether only information is available or detection has already been carried out.

The Hamm fire service recalls severe air raids in 1943 and 1944. For a present-day project, historical findings are linked with the specific ground area and volume and later changes. Around stations and shunting facilities with tracks and points, at industrial and energy installations, former production and storage sites, housing and mixed-use areas or utility corridors, documented uses and alterations form part of this assessment. Reconstruction, denser development, reuse and altered ground areas are considered using existing documents. For retaining structures, route crossings or other infrastructure work, the work areas and volumes actually affected and depths of groundworks are described. Land-use history alone does not establish specific ordnance contamination on the property.

Working together

Allocate tasks within the construction project

Client and operator

The client describes the project and provides the available project documents. The operator adds requirements relating to use, access and scheduling. The participants agree their respective tasks and decision-making responsibilities. A coordinating contact person brings the project information together. Before an appointment, it is recorded clearly which information is missing, who will obtain it and which decision the result is intended to support.

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 carries out the agreed permissible investigation and documentation scope. Authority requirements and decisions are clarified with the respective competent bodies. The documents needed for a specific procedure depend on the site and project. The technical report documents the specialist service performed, including areas, depths and limits of its conclusions. Its applicability to further groundworks is checked against the specific intervention.

The municipal service pages identify the Hamm fire service as responsible for the respective ordnance matters. Local hazard prevention and state processing are clarified with it. Specialist support is provided by the explosive ordnance disposal service at the Arnsberg District Government. Requirements and decisions of the competent authorities are considered before permissible private specialist work.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

Determine the outstanding task first

The findings missing are derived from existing responses and the planned groundworks. Initial information, an area investigation and work on a specific location are different tasks. The application types offered do not establish a fixed sequence of measures for every property. The competent authority is involved according to the specific matter.

Assess historical documents

Distinguish the specialist service from the state task

The agreed private commission must identify the activity actually permissible and the scope of findings required. It does not replace state processing of an identified suspicion. The North Rhine-Westphalia prerequisites are checked before an agreement. Even for technically similar activities, the specific task and official requirements remain decisive.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Assign each document to the appropriate question

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

Record an official response as the starting status

Record which authority issued the response and which area it concerns. Together with the current construction plans, this identifies the question still outstanding. The application name does not establish a technical investigation carried out. Further preparation therefore reads the actual content of the response.

Provide a response with its associated maps and attachments. Also identify the current construction task so that the earlier enquiry area can be compared with it. A response may concern a property, for example, while a utility connection planned later lies outside that area. The additional area remains identifiable as its own outstanding task. If the response specifies a further investigation, its subject matter and responsible processing are clarified. The specialist enquiry then describes the part actually still needed and distinguishes it from state findings already available.

Document findings and their limitations
Illustration: two people review plans and documents at a table beside a construction vehicle.

Locate an individual point unambiguously

Designations and maps from the original notification remain linked with the location concerned. Different numbering systems are compared clearly. A marking on site is not equated with information in another report without a basis. If allocation is unclear, the existing documentation is first completed.

At handover between a planning office, client and contractor, the original point designation and associated site plan belong together. Identify if a later plan uses different numbers or a changed map background. An unclear allocation is clarified with the authority responsible for the notification. The contractor receives the confirmed document revision for its own permissible commission. This also identifies which adjoining ground areas and volumes still need separate consideration for the construction project.

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

Consider the rest of the area separately

Even after a particular location has been addressed, it must be checked which findings are available for the adjoining proposed groundworks. Belonging to the same property and proximity do not extend the documented scope. Draw the construction area and individual results areas distinctly on the plan. This identifies tasks still outstanding for the project.

A structure may lie partly within a documented area while its working area and volume extend beyond it. Existing findings and outstanding questions for these boundary areas are recorded separately. For an extension, the location, depth and proposed sequence are communicated. The technical task follows this additional ground area and volume and official requirements. Work already carried out remains traceably documented; its findings are adopted for the newly added area only insofar as the complete documents support this.

Specialist services and investigation tasks
Preparation

Prepare the scope and commission together

Historical preliminary assessment, technical investigation and specialist work during construction answer different project questions. The permissible private activity under the specific North Rhine-Westphalia procedure is clarified with the information objective and necessary authority involvement before an agreement.

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

The scope of private specialist work is agreed using the project documents, actual execution conditions and permissible activity. Necessary preparatory works, investigation, evaluation and documentation are described transparently. Costs and dates are related to these prerequisites and the required coordination. Changes to the construction plans are checked against the agreed contract before work is extended.

Discuss the scope and schedule
Tasks at the site

What is to be investigated: a construction area, individual point or extension

01

Project and existing findings

First bring together the planned groundworks and responses or reports available. Identify whether initial information is needed or an investigation already defined remains outstanding. The application name alone does not establish this.

02

Area or excavation

For planned area detection, state the boundaries, investigation objective and working conditions. If an excavation is constructed in several sections, record their relationship to the previous investigation status. A general property address is insufficient to define the subsequent evidence scope.

03

Specific suspected location

If a specifically identified indication of suspected ordnance exists, its allocation must be retained in the documents. Check the source of a marking before assigning it to a suspected location in another document. The assessment and competent authority required must be clarified on the basis of the existing notification and specific project.

04

Extension of a route or operational area

If a project grows beyond the previous investigation area, the new part of the site must be compared separately. This applies, for example, to an added utility route or relocated access road. The previous report continues to apply only to its documented investigation area.

With separate construction commissions, a new utility section, operational access route and later excavation may need different evidence coverage. Also describe their respective connections and working depths. If the construction sequence changes, the plan revision intended for it is compared with existing results. A contractor joining later receives the related documents and status of outstanding tasks. For a commissioned section, the findings available, remaining limitations and further specialist work required should be unambiguous. Decisions on additional services are agreed with the respective client and competent authorities.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Collect responses with an unambiguous procedural reference

Several enquiries may use different maps and designations. Assign responses to the respective procedure and plan revision. The complete documents remain available together. A shortened summary should identify whether it concerns information, an area or an individual location.

The project record should identify which procedure concerns information only and which already has a technical report. For a new plan revision, list the drawings superseded and the groundworks actually changed. If an older document remains relevant for an unchanged section, identify this too. An enquiry names the affected area or location with its designation. The recipient can then assign the appropriate response and associated attachments. Documents from different procedures are reused with their own purpose and scope of findings.

Hand over results to the next contractor

The person involved next needs the relationship between their work and existing findings. Provide the complete reports and maps. Uninvestigated areas remain visible. A general statement that an investigation has already taken place at the site is insufficient for a different task.

For the next groundworks, it also matters whether the conditions of the earlier report still apply. Changed ground surfaces, new installations or relocated access are therefore communicated. The agreed specialist service describes the ground area and volume now to be investigated and results documents required. For an inaccessible part of the site, the outstanding task explicitly remains unresolved. Once it is investigated later, the new documents are brought together with the older results. The respective investigation dates and limitations remain distinguishable. Site management receives a traceable status for further planning of the specific groundworks. After clearance work has been carried out, the associated clearance record, including its scope, results and limitations, supplements these documents for the ground area and volume actually treated.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Before selecting an application type

Set existing responses beside the current groundworks plan. Identify the question still unanswered and area affected. These details are used to clarify appropriate further work with the competent authority. An application title alone does not fully describe the actual need.

For the specialist enquiry, already describe the next construction phase and groundworks proposed first. Identify existing access, areas temporarily occupied and other contractors whose work needs coordination. Preparatory work such as breaking the surface or providing access is clarified with the investigations and protective measures required before ground intervention. Which private specialist work may permissibly be commissioned is determined according to the findings available and North Rhine-Westphalia conditions. State processing remains decisive for a suspicion identified by an authority.

Before extending the construction area

Identify the additional area and compare it with the results documented so far. Even a small extension may lie outside the investigated scope. Before the relevant work, the further findings required are clarified. Existing individual locations remain traceably assigned with their original designations.

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 investigation task depends, among other things, on the expected objects, subsurface conditions, interference and investigation area required. Fences, utilities or existing structures can affect interpretation. A signal is therefore not classified as explosive ordnance solely on its strength. The method, interpretation and any further investigation are planned as a connected specialist task. Magnetometry measures the magnetic field passively. The magnetic effect of the target object is decisive; electrical conductivity alone does not establish its detectability by this method.

Understand the scope of magnetometry

Electromagnetic methods

Electromagnetic investigations may be suitable for certain metallic target objects and site conditions. Suitability is justified for the particular task rather than inferred from the mere availability of an instrument. Interfering installations, accessible areas and the required conclusion must also be considered. Results are documented with their locations and investigation conditions. Whether a supplementary method is needed follows from technical assessment and remains a specific project decision. Transient electromagnetic methods, or TDEM, evaluate the time-dependent electromagnetic response of conductive objects. The method is selected according to the investigation objective and actual measurement conditions.

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

Investigation scope and report findings

Aerial imagery analysis and further indications

The historical aerial photograph analysis may provide indications that need consideration in further investigations. For your own project, this information is compared with official notifications and the planned groundworks area. Proximity to railway or industrial facilities alone does not establish specific ordnance contamination on the property.

Measurement conditions in the investigation area

For a surface survey the method and findings achievable depend on the respective task and measurement conditions. Existing utilities, installations or uninterpretable sections must be considered. The report must identify which findings are possible for which area. They do not automatically apply to deeper or neighbouring groundworks. Where interpretability is limited, a suitable supplementary investigation or permissible supervision during construction is professionally agreed. Necessary investigations and protective measures are clarified before preparatory groundworks.

Official duties and the private commission

The survey is agreed with its specific purpose and permissible scope. State duties are not transferred through a private enquiry. In North Rhine-Westphalia, private downhole detection and explosive ordnance clearance during construction in particular are subject to defined conditions. The task must be clarified before commissioning.

Next steps

From the outstanding question to a documented specialist service

01

Identify the need

Describe the ordnance question still outstanding and planned groundworks. Provide the project address, current plans and existing responses with their attachments.

02

Compare documents

Relate applications, responses, maps and earlier results to the same area. Documents are checked for revision status, spatial correspondence and gaps. Where historical questions remain outstanding, the required source research and aerial imagery analysis are carried out and assigned to present-day groundworks.

03

Agree the measure

Clarify responsibility, the investigation objective and specific prerequisites for the work. A suitable method is selected according to the information sought, depth of groundworks, utilities, ground composition and measurement conditions. The tasks of those involved and permissible service scope are agreed before the work.

04

Perform the agreed investigation

The survey or investigation during construction appointed under North Rhine-Westphalia's requirements is carried out in the agreed areas and points. Measurement data and observations receive traceable location and elevation references. Uninvestigated areas, restricted access and relevant interference are recorded.

05

Assess survey data and findings

The collected data and findings are evaluated against the investigation objective. The technical assessment considers interference, the areas reached and remaining limits of the conclusions. It establishes which further investigation or work is needed for the planned groundworks.

06

Document the investigated area

Document the area investigated and outstanding tasks clearly. The report and plan attachments document the specialist service carried out, its assessment, areas, depths and limitations. The agreed recipients receive complete documents and the status of specialist tasks still required for further construction planning.

Documentation

Distinguish information, area investigation and individual locations in the report

Findings and their scope

Identify in the project record whether a document concerns information, a technical area investigation or a particular individual location. Record the area investigated and limitations described in each case. This keeps it clear which tasks are complete and what remains to be done.

Project responsibilities

FONTANA-EOD documents each specialist service commissioned and its results. State decisions are made by the competent authorities. The BFR Kampfmittelräumung support the specialist structure of planning and documentation; outside their direct scope relating to federal property, local responsibility and project-specific requirements are clarified separately.

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

A procedure name does not establish a result

Whether an investigation has already been carried out follows from the documents available. Information and a survey report serve different purposes. Check their content and stated limitations. For later planning, this distinction is retained in summaries and document handovers too.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

Distinguish point-specific findings from area-based findings

The documented investigation scope determines whether a result can be used. One location investigated does not automatically represent its surroundings. Conversely, an area report must identify the areas and limitations it contains. Current groundworks are compared with this actual scope in each case.

Understand the service scope
Design and findings

Documents for the next construction decision

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

Historical evidence and the current design

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

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

Specialist reports for site management

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

Assess investigation reports
Four people in orange high-visibility vests in front of two excavators on a construction site.
Person with a yellow survey cart on a footpath in front of a hedge.
Questions from planning

Questions about applications and investigation scope in Hamm

Which online services does the city of Hamm identify?

The service portal lists the enquiry for an ordnance certificate and separate applications for surface or excavation detection and surveying locations of suspected unexploded ordnance or other indications of suspected ordnance. Use the city's current pages to agree the enquiry appropriate to your matter.

Are all three applications necessary for every project?

This cannot be inferred from the separate application options. The specific findings available, planned groundworks and requirements of the competent authorities are decisive. The investigation required is clarified for each project.

Does an investigated suspected location cover the entire construction area?

A point-specific investigation describes its documented scope. It is not automatically evidence for the entire surrounding area. Whether further areas need investigation depends on the task, other findings and official requirements.

Which information helps FONTANA-EOD with specialist preparation?

In particular, a site plan of the proposed groundworks, existing municipal responses and investigation reports with maps are needed. Identify the outstanding question and mark additional areas or changed depths. This keeps it clear which task the enquiry relates to.

What should I do if a possible ordnance item appears during work?

Stop work in the affected area, keep your distance and do not touch or move the object. Notify the Hamm fire service control centre on 112 or the police on 110. Await instructions from the competent authorities and do not attempt to examine, expose or recover it yourself.

How can different numbering systems be compared?

Using the original notifications and associated maps. An allocation is documented clearly; if its basis is missing, it initially remains unresolved.

What should a short results summary contain?

The type of document, area covered and significant limitations. Complete reports and maps remain available for specialist comparison.

Which cost factors should be considered for a small extension?

Even a small additional area may lie outside the documented investigation scope. Its location and depth are compared with existing results before the affected work. Effort also depends on usable documents, access and preparatory work, a suitable method, the area or number and depth of investigation points, measurement conditions, and interpretation and documentation. Specialist work still needed is offered specifically on this basis.

Project enquiry

Clarify the outstanding question for your project in Hamm

Assign the existing response precisely

Send responses with their procedural reference, maps and any designations of individual locations. Retain complete attachments and state the previous stage of work. For the enquiry, the fire service specifies a site plan showing the construction project at a scale of 1:250, 1:500 or 1:1000; observe the current guidance on the respective application page.

Describe the outstanding question

Mark the proposed groundworks and explain which findings are still missing for further work. State the location, depth and plan revision of excavations, foundations and utilities. For area clearance or recovery tasks, the specific scope and permissible commissioning are clarified with the competent authority. For further projects in Aachen, Dortmund, Düren, Düsseldorf, Essen, Eschweiler or Cologne the respective local documents are decisive.

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.