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

Explosive ordnance assessment in Herford for buildings and civil engineering

The building is planned, utility connections are addressed separately and access has another plan. These parts are considered together when preparing explosive ordnance surveying in Herford. FONTANA-EOD helps relate existing investigation results to the planned groundworks in Herford and clarify outstanding technical questions before execution.

Buildings

Record foundations and the excavation with their depths.

Connections

Include utility routes and handover points.

Shared plan

Distinguish investigated and unresolved areas.

Discuss the project's technical requirementsExplosive ordnance assessment in North Rhine-Westphalia
Assess the construction project

Connect all planned ground interventions in one overview

A construction project may bring together several plans and clients. For your project in Herford, we compare buildings, utility connections and other groundworks with existing explosive ordnance documents. Each subarea remains identifiable with its own task and outstanding findings.

Project references

Selected project examples

Project site

Connect the site with the specific construction task

Illustrative map of North Rhine-Westphalia with the state coat of arms, a tablet, a white FONTANA-EOD helmet and a notebook.

Coordinate Herford applications and shared planning

The Hanseatic City of Herford lists Abteilung 2.5 Bürgerservice, Sicherheit und Ordnung as the responsible department. Its service page links separate applications for general construction projects and civil engineering. Which procedure applies to related works is clarified with the city. Independently of this, the technical overview connects all interventions actually proposed.

For the enquiry, proposed works are brought together on the current site plan. Buildings, excavation support, service connections and external works receive clear labels. Also mark areas outside the project’s own property and the clients involved there. Existing official information and investigations are related using their maps. Outstanding design options remain identifiable with dates and processing statuses. Municipal coordination can then consider the related interventions and their interfaces. A later extension is assessed using the works actually added. Further project locations are shown in the regional overview.

For general construction projects, the officially linked Herford online form requires a site plan and construction plan and, where applicable, an authorisation. The site plan should clearly define the area to be investigated, including necessary utilities; a scale of 1:1000 is generally specified. The street name and house number or cadastral parcel number assist identification. The construction plan should show the position and scope of the works. This may also include service connections in streets or neighbouring properties. If another person is commissioned to submit the application, the form provides for authorisation by the property owner. These appendices are compiled with the current individual plans for shared preparation.

The overview of the Detmold administrative district provides further local information for the regional context of your construction project.

North Rhine-Westphalia
Local context

Also consider works outside the building

Identify Herford application procedures according to the specific works

The Hanseatic City of Herford’s service page calls for an early application for explosive ordnance assessment before construction involving ground interventions. It links two online forms: one for general construction projects and one for civil engineering. Clarify with the responsible city department which application fits your project and how related subareas are handled.

The history of Herford City Library describes its move to Arndtstraße in 1943 and severe damage from an air raid in the following year. The library then returned to premises on Elisabethstraße. For a present-day technical question, these historical building locations are compared with contemporary plans and today’s working areas. Suitable aerial photographs, building records and other available documents are researched and assessed for the affected areas. Subsequent changes of use and terrain remain identifiable as separate points in time. Historical identification relates to the construction area actually planned.

Consider building construction and civil engineering using one spatial reference

A shared site plan assists technical preparation. If, for example, a new building with a sewer connection and access is proposed, all resulting ground interventions should be identifiable. This does not mean that the same method is required everywhere. It first prevents participants from referring to different areas while discussing the same construction project.

If the building, sewer connection and access are planned separately, compare their execution boundaries in a shared representation. An older report can describe only the area actually addressed at that time. Additional utility routes, changed depths and preparatory groundworks therefore receive their own identification. Handover points between two clients are also recorded. For further work, record which question existing documents can answer and which supplementary findings are still needed. The next specialist works and official steps are assigned to the respective interventions.

Working together

Distinguish the tasks of client, designers and specialist contractor

Client and operator

The client describes the project and provides the available project records. The operator adds requirements for use, access and timing. A coordinating contact brings the parties together; individual tasks remain assigned to the named parties. Before commissioning, it is clearly recorded what information is missing, who will obtain it and what decision the result is intended to prepare.

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 carries out the agreed investigation and documentation work. Requirements and decisions of public authorities are addressed with the responsible bodies. The documents needed for a particular procedure depend on the location and project. The technical report describes the work carried out, including its documented area, depth and scope. Decisions reserved for public authorities are made by those authorities.

The Hanseatic City of Herford is the local contact for explosive ordnance assessment. The state explosive ordnance disposal service at the Arnsberg district government supports the local authority within its remit. For a permissible private specialist commission, the investigation objective, areas and results documents are agreed. Where there are several clients, it remains clear who obtains which plans and passes on responses. The shared overview also identifies those responsible at handover points. For project locations outside the city, the responsible municipality is determined from the actual address. Any need for ordnance recovery is coordinated with the permissible task and the competent authorities.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

Determine the requirement for each subarea

The state of knowledge, intervention and site conditions are considered together for each area. Different technical tasks may follow. An approach suitable for the main excavation is not extended to a service connection without review. Selection remains justified using the respective investigation objective and documented limitations.

Assess historical documents

Connect shared planning with clear commission boundaries

The overview may contain several services without mixing their responsibilities. Identify who undertakes which task and to what extent. Official requirements and necessary state steps are considered. Before a private commission, the NRW requirements for the specific activity are clarified separately.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Consider interfaces between the individual plans

Illustration: a person wearing a hard hat and holding a tablet beside a cordoned-off excavation with an excavator.

Record interventions outside the building footprint

The excavation, support or connections may extend beyond the eventual visible building area. Show these works with their actual boundaries and depths. The shared overview should represent execution, not just the completed building. Areas not yet finalised are identified as the current planning status.

Provide specialist supervision of excavation
Illustration: two people review plans and documents at a table beside a construction vehicle.

Clarify handover points between participants

A connection may be addressed by several designers or clients. Identify the spatial handover points and respective documents needed. Existing results are compared at these points. An organisational responsibility boundary is not automatically identical to a documented investigation boundary.

Coordinate the sequence and tasks
Illustration: two people with a tablet beside a drawing table and a survey trolley on a construction site.

Describe external works by their ground interventions

Later use as access, a path or a drainage area leaves actual execution unspecified. Add the positions and depths of proposed interventions. Compare these with existing reports. A shared property address is insufficient to extend the results of an excavation investigation to every external area.

Specialist services and investigation tasks
Preparation

Prepare the scope and commission together

The following specialist topics explain possible investigation tasks. Which activity may be privately commissioned under the specific North Rhine-Westphalia procedure is clarified separately before an agreement.

Establish what needs to be known before commissioning the work

For the specialist commission in Herford, plans for buildings, connections and further civil engineering works are compiled. Identify the respective intended ground volumes and existing results. This shows which documents must first be interpreted, which additional areas investigated and which assessed findings addressed further. Separate clients or design commissions retain their responsibilities; the technical overview shows their spatial interfaces. Specialist works and results documents needed are related to the actual interventions. The applicable municipal application procedure is clarified with the city.

Define the specialist task

Coordinate preparatory work with the investigation

Before the investigation appointment, agree the areas actually accessible for the excavation, service connections and other works. Existing utility information and interfaces with other trades belong in preparation. Preparatory works needed depend on the method and site conditions. Additional breaking up of surfaces or other ground interventions to provide measurement access are technically agreed with the responsible participants and not undertaken on personal initiative. For separate construction commissions, clarify who provides the prerequisites needed for each area.

Clarify preparatory work in the programme

Agree a clear scope and schedule

The commission describes which parts of the shared plan will be addressed and which prerequisites remain outstanding. If a connection area is accessible only later, the scope considers this. Dates and effort are agreed using the access, documents and coordination required; assessment and results handover belong in the process. Investigations already performed are identified with their actual boundaries. For the next construction phase, it therefore remains clear which findings building and civil engineering works can rely on and where a supplementary specialist task is still needed.

Discuss the scope and schedule
Tasks at the site

Information connecting building construction and civil engineering

01

Excavation and foundations

Draw the proposed building elements and state the planned depths. Add excavation support or other elements extending beyond the building footprint where applicable. A plan showing only the external walls visible later does not fully describe the actual interventions.

02

Utility lines through to the connection

Show the proposed utility alignment including handover points. If part lies outside the building plot, it must also be identifiable in the technical comparison. The clients involved should agree who obtains and passes on the relevant documents.

03

Access and external works

State where access, drainage or other external works actually involve ground interventions. An area marked only for its later use does not establish the execution depth. Distinguish established works from options whose scope remains open.

04

Documents with their plan version

Relate each report to its investigated area and underlying plan. A result for the main excavation does not automatically answer questions about a utility trench added later. A shared overview shows which parts have already been addressed and where documents need supplementing.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Retain partial reports within their respective scope

Assign an area, task and plan version to each document. A shared overview assists orientation but does not replace complete individual reports. Different results and limitations remain identifiable. For a specific construction phase, compile the findings covering its actual intervention specifically.

Identify the provenance and valid versions of building, utility and external works plans. Reports and maps are provided together for existing investigations. An overview relates these documents to their respective working areas. Missing appendices and outstanding responses remain explicitly recorded. With several clients, record who obtains documents for the adjacent section. All participants use the same unambiguous labels for structural elements, connections and handover points when raising questions.

Pass plan changes to everyone affected

A moved utility line or deeper foundation may affect several individual plans. Mark changes from the previous version. Participants check the new scope using the same documents. Missing findings are clarified before the affected works rather than concealed by a general update to the project designation.

The results handover identifies areas addressed, areas with limited assessability and unresolved areas. Site management receives complete documents for its respective works. If position, depth or construction method changes, clarify the influence on the documented findings before execution. Existing findings remain usable for the area actually covered. New specialist works receive their own investigation scope. On a later handover to other companies, the plan version, report and outstanding tasks remain connected. Following clearance work, the clearance record with its scope, results and remaining limitations supplements these documents for the construction section actually treated.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Bring individual plans together before the technical enquiry

Use the current building, utility and external works plans. Add known official information and results with their spatial boundaries. Missing information remains visible. Initial coordination can then focus on the actual interfaces and unresolved areas of the entire project.

Coordinate the construction phase with us

Hand over the appropriate version before each execution

Site management receives the plans and complete reports applicable to its working area. Changes and remaining limitations are explicitly identified. Completion of one part is not treated as blanket completion of all project areas. Later extensions are reassessed using the interventions then proposed.

Coordinate the construction phase with us
Method selection

Select methods according to the task and survey conditions

Historical records and aerial photographs

Historical aerial photograph analysis and other earlier records help establish the spatial context of grounds for suspicion. The images examined and area boundaries are compared with the shared plans for buildings and connections. Availability and information value determine the historical findings. The absence of a visible indication is not a technical investigation of today’s ground. Assessment is connected with other findings and proposed interventions. Connection areas outside the project’s own property are included with their actual spatial references; findings for the building footprint do not provide blanket confirmation of all further works.

Understand aerial photograph assessment

Magnetometric survey

Magnetic methods detect magnetic anomalies. Suitability for the respective excavation and connection areas is assessed using expected objects, ground conditions and the investigation volume needed. Fences, utilities and existing structures may influence assessment. A signal does not identify explosive ordnance by strength alone. Measurement, assessment and necessary further clarification are planned as a connected specialist task. Results are related to the areas actually addressed even if different construction commissions cover them.

Understand the scope of magnetometry

Electromagnetic methods

Electromagnetic investigations may suit certain metallic target objects and site conditions. Selection is justified using the findings required, accessible measurement areas and interfering installations. Instrument availability alone is insufficient. Results are documented with locations and investigation conditions. A necessary supplementary method follows from assessment of the respective specialist task. Shared planning keeps distinct which findings concern the building footprint and which belong to a connection or further civil engineering area.

Understand electromagnetic surveying

Ground-penetrating radar

Under suitable conditions, ground-penetrating radar can provide information about subsurface structures and reflections. Ground conditions, moisture and installations affect assessability. A reflection is not automatically explosive ordnance; an unremarkable area does not confirm any arbitrary depth. Specialist interpretation and limitations are documented with the commission. An existing radar plan for utility or building investigations is checked for purpose and scope before use as evidence concerning explosive ordnance. Its actual coverage is compared with the related groundworks.

GPR and limitations

Deep-ground and downhole surveys

For deeper interventions, it may be necessary to check whether investigation from the surface provides the findings needed or whether another approach is required. Deep foundation elements and chambers are described with their positions, depths, reference elevations and known utilities. Borehole arrangement and provision of suitable investigation access belong in specialist planning. A standard grid or general depth figure does not replace this task. Results remain tied to the ground volumes actually addressed. An investigation for building foundations is not adopted as evidence for a connection at a different depth merely because it is nearby.

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. Investigation, assessment and communication of findings are connected with actual construction works. Mere visual observation of excavation does not replace a necessary survey. Site management receives the relationship of specialist works, new findings and unresolved areas to the respective activities. With several companies involved, interfaces between building and civil engineering works are technically agreed and clearly described in the sequence.

Agree the approach during construction
Technical assessment

Determine investigation requirements for each intervention

Identify historical findings

A historical aerial photograph analysis is read with its map and limitations. If several assessments exist, their areas must remain distinguishable. Findings are not extended to another area merely because it belongs to the same owner or is included in the same construction contract.

For technical comparison, plan versions from the individual disciplines are compiled with dates and spatial identification. For a service connection, show the alignment, connection point and proposed depths clearly. Additional excavations, chambers or lateral support elements are considered with their actual working volumes. Moving the main excavation may also affect the handover point to utility construction. Such changes are traced in all affected individual plans. Technical assessment keeps clear which scope has already been investigated and which position has been added.

Depths receive an unambiguous reference to the ground surface or proposed investigation level. Changes to terrain or working level are stated with their corresponding dates. Results from different sections are read together with their conditions and limitations. At a handover point, check whether the documented areas meet spatially and cover the same proposed task. For example, an area may be identified spatially while findings for an additional deeper section remain missing. The outstanding question is identified for that specific position. Addressing it is agreed with those responsible before the affected ground intervention.

Consider terrain conditions

Whether a survey is needed and which method may be suitable depend on the state of knowledge, construction task and site conditions. Utilities, surfaced areas or installations may affect investigation. Method selection for one subarea cannot be extended to all others without technical comparison.

Agree outstanding works

The clearance plan can bring together different investigation tasks and their limitations. If an area is initially inaccessible, this is explicitly recorded. Later work must be planned before the affected ground intervention; merely watching excavation does not replace a necessary explosive ordnance investigation.

Next steps

Connect several plans into a reliable set of documents

01

Bring initial contact information and underlying documents together

At first contact, describe buildings, connections, external works and the decision needed. Existing explosive ordnance documents are related to planned interventions using their maps. If historical information is missing, necessary aerial photograph analysis is initiated through the responsible local authority. Unresolved use or terrain information is researched and technically assessed using supplementary records and images. Findings are compiled for the working areas actually proposed.

02

Establish methods and individual tasks

The official status and outstanding investigation question are established for each working area. The suitable method depends on target objects, ground conditions, depth, interference and access. Different subareas may have different requirements. State tasks and permissible private specialist works are assigned to their respective commissions. The preliminary works and results documents needed are recorded with the participants. Spatial handover points remain identifiable on the shared plan.

03

Investigate and assess data

The agreed survey or technically suitable supplementary supervision is carried out under the agreed conditions. Data and observations are technically assessed and related to the areas addressed. Assessment identifies usable results, anomalies and locations with limited assessability. Deviations from the initial plan remain documented with their actual scope. Further investigations or coordination follow from the specific outstanding questions.

04

Document and compare with subsequent works

Reports and maps are handed to site management with their scope, plan version and limitations. Before each intervention, position, depth and construction method are compared with the results. Unresolved connection areas receive their own next task. Additional or changed works are agreed with the responsible participants before execution. The results handover shows which specialist works and official decisions are still needed for each section.

Documentation

The investigated area must be identifiable at handover

Document subareas with their actual investigation scope

Reports, maps and official responses should relate unambiguously to the respective works. This includes subareas not addressed and methodological limitations. A collective project designation such as “new building Herford” is insufficient. Keep the individual evidence together and identify which version is used for execution.

Project responsibilities

The BFR Kampfmittelräumung describe specialist work on federal properties and provide technical guidance outside their direct scope. In Herford, local requirements and North Rhine-Westphalia’s responsibilities remain decisive. FONTANA-EOD documents the agreed specialist service with the scope actually addressed. Official decisions and establishment of the local procedure rest with the competent authorities.

Working approach

How FONTANA-EOD works

Document the agreed specialist service clearly

FONTANA-EOD addresses the agreed specialist task for the identified parts of Herford’s overall project plans. Accessible areas and results needed are agreed before execution. If position, depth or site conditions change, the scope is reviewed before the affected works. The report records the work actually performed and its limitations. Site management can relate findings to the respective building, connection or external works area. Additional parts of the plan remain identifiable as separate outstanding tasks rather than being absorbed into a general project designation.

Discuss the investigation task

The task before the equipment

Method selection starts with the findings missing for the relevant part of the shared plan. Foundations, a deep chamber and a service connection may have different prerequisites. The approach is justified using the investigation objective and actual conditions. An available instrument or similar neighbouring site is insufficient as the sole basis. Specialist planning keeps the connection to the respective activity and ground volume clear.

Keep limitations visible

Inaccessible areas and those with limited assessability are identified on the shared plan with their boundaries. Site management assigns affected trades and supplementary work still needed to them. Findings concerning the overall construction area are supplemented by these outstanding tasks. Planning and execution clarify when a suitable investigation will be possible. Connection areas outside the project’s own property also remain visible. Investigation of the building footprint is not extended unchecked to all associated utility routes.

Clarify changes before intervening in the ground

If buildings, a connection or access change in position, depth or construction method, compare the new version with existing results before the affected works. Specialist planners receive the change within the shared spatial reference. Their response and necessary supplementary work are assigned to the design and execution tasks involved. An unchanged project name or new individual commission does not in itself confirm correspondence with the earlier investigation scope.

Hand over the report and plan together

Reports and plan appendices are provided at handover as corresponding results versions. An overview can identify the building, connection and civil engineering areas addressed and outstanding questions. It does not replace the documented investigation scope. If site management or contractors change, the relationship of documents to individual activities is retained. Shared planning can then continue using suitable results and establish the findings still missing for additional works.

Understand the results

Use technical statements for the next decision

One property may contain different tasks

Investigations are read with their documented spatial and technical scope. Shared ownership does not extend these findings. For additional connections or external works, therefore check which results actually apply. Further work needed follows the respective interventions and existing knowledge.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

A shared overview does not replace results appendices

The overview plan helps relate several reports and official responses correctly. However, the individual documents contain the decisive findings, conditions and limitations. Keep both available together. If site management changes, it then remains traceable which documentation supports execution of a particular section.

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 construction projects with several subareas

Do I need two applications for the building and utility connection?

The city provides separate forms for general construction projects and civil engineering. This does not establish a fixed number of applications for your project. Describe the related works and clarify the investigation requirement and appropriate procedure with the city well before the proposed ground interventions. The state explosive ordnance disposal service supports the local authority within its remit.

Does a result for the main excavation also cover access?

This can only be assessed using the report and its spatial and technical limitations. If access is outside the documented investigation scope, it must not be treated as assessed merely because the property address is shared. Complete reports with maps and the current site and depth plan are needed for that comparison.

What should be done if the utility route has not yet been established?

Mark possible options and the planning status still open. Once the route is established, check whether existing findings and investigations cover the actual interventions. An earlier document does not automatically answer a task changed later.

Must the same measurement method be used everywhere?

No. The investigation objective, planned interventions and conditions in each area determine technical selection. Different methods or task scopes must be traceably documented and agreed with the relevant requirements. Locations with limited assessability and the respective method limitations remain documented in the results.

What should I do if a suspicious object is found?

Stop the affected works. Do not touch or move the object; move away and keep others away. Notify the police immediately on 110 and follow official instructions.

Which boundary particularly needs checking where there are several clients?

The actual handover points of interventions and corresponding result boundaries. Organisational responsibilities and investigated areas may have different boundaries. The sequence connects document review and necessary historical assessment with method selection, investigation or suitable supervision, assessment and documentation. Before subsequent works, results are compared with the plans.

Which factors determine effort and costs?

The number and scope of subareas, methods, depths, interference and accessibility determine the effort. Additional investigations and necessary preparatory works are agreed as separate tasks. With several clients, service scope, results documents needed and cost allocation are recorded for each section. The specific steps needed and their applicable prerequisites are decisive.

What does newly appointed site management receive?

The current plan version and complete corresponding reports with maps, limitations and outstanding tasks. A project overview supplements these documents. Outstanding external works options remain marked as provisional plans with their possible intervention areas. Once established, it is checked which existing findings cover the actual execution.

Project enquiry

Prepare the first technical discussion

Compile individual plans

Send current building, utility and external works plans with proposed depths. Add the project address, cadastral parcel, conditions, existing aerial photograph analyses and complete technical reports. Utility and as-built plans are provided with their respective versions. The sector overview explains typical interventions and the documents they require.

Show interfaces

Mark handover points, outstanding options and areas not covered by existing reports. Identify the construction area, routes, borehole points, construction phases, planned times and decision needed. The works due first and their responsible contacts remain identifiable.

Project enquiry

Have your project assessed

Whether historical aerial photograph analysis, explosive ordnance surveying, surface surveying using GPR, magnetometry or TDEM, deep-ground surveys, downhole surveys, excavation supervision, area clearance or ordnance recovery is needed depends on the location, ground disturbance, depth, ground and existing documents. An early ordnance assessment provides clarity for tendering, programming, occupational safety and construction.

FONTANA-EOD combines its Section 7 SprengG licence, specialists holding Section 20 SprengG certificates of competence, suitable survey and clearance methods, and traceable documentation. Send the site plan, depth of ground disturbance, construction phase and existing documents for an initial technical assessment.

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