Technical map view of the Cologne administrative district with Cologne marked for explosive ordnance investigation and surveys by FONTANA-EOD

Explosive ordnance surveying for construction projects in Cologne

Are you planning an underground car park, alterations or new utility lines in Cologne? First clarify the status of the state explosive ordnance assessment. FONTANA-EOD helps compare planned ground interventions with existing documents and prepare possible supplementary investigations.

Construction task

Record all proposed ground interventions.

Procedural status

Clarify official steps before commissioning.

Result

Record investigated areas and depths.

Discuss supplementary investigation requirementsExplosive ordnance assessment in North Rhine-Westphalia
Assess the construction project

Compare the new intervention with existing conditions

For your construction project in Cologne, the municipal information on preventive explosive ordnance clearance and statement concerning the application area are key initial documents. Show the excavation, support, connections and proposed depths on the site plan and compare these with existing investigation reports. One local example from our work is the downhole magnetometry at the KVB depot in Köln-Porz (BS-203). For foundation or borehole points, we explain the downhole and deep-ground survey. Work performed there does not replace assessment of another property.

Project references

Selected project examples

Project site

Connect the site with the specific construction task

Schematic map with a coat of arms, alongside a tablet, safety helmet and notebook.

Assess the Cologne project for its specific property

Cologne is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia and belongs to the Cologne administrative district. The city’s Amt für öffentliche Ordnung is involved in explosive ordnance matters; technical support comes from the KBD Rheinland at the Düsseldorf district government. For coordination, provide the precise property location, complete earlier documents and all proposed groundworks. For multiple construction sections, describe the position and depths of each intervention separately.

An enquiry from Altstadt-Nord or Altstadt-Süd, Deutz and the exhibition/Koelnmesse surroundings, Mülheim, Ehrenfeld, Nippes, Kalk, Humboldt/Gremberg, Rath/Heumar, Chorweiler, Longerich, Lindenthal including the university and hospital site, or Porz needs the specific address and site plan. For city-centre projects and works on existing properties, working volumes, basements and utilities may be central; for railway, port and industrial areas, use and construction conditions are identified using available documents. Airport proximity, a Rhine-side location or district name alone does not determine a specific investigation method. The technical requirement follows from the actual intervention and available official information.

FONTANA-EOD has a location at Bonner Straße 72, 50389 Wesseling. Enquiries from Cologne and the Rhineland are prepared using the specific construction task. For a project in Leverkusen, Hürth, Frechen, Brühl, Wesseling, Troisdorf, Niederkassel, Bergisch Gladbach, Erftstadt or Pulheim, state the respective municipality. These places belong to different municipal areas of responsibility; their procedure is clarified for each project location. Send the precise location and current state of knowledge together with the proposed groundworks.

North Rhine-Westphalia
Local context

Assess existing development and planned ground interventions together

Existing development and today’s assessment requirement

Existing buildings, renewed sewers or asphalt surfaces alone do not establish that the ground has been adequately assessed for explosive ordnance for the new works. The City of Cologne notes that areas rebuilt after the war may also be affected and that the city must be involved in every new construction project. A district name does not provide reliable findings for an individual property.

The City of Cologne explains the historical context of Allied air raids during the Second World War targeting bridges and the railway network. For a present-day property, relevant indications are connected with its actual location and history of use. Records of former railway and shunting areas, port and logistics sites, industrial and commercial areas or military redevelopment sites may describe different construction conditions. Demolition, reconstruction, rubble and other fill, and later utility works are relevant to this comparison. What matters is which documents actually cover the area and planned works. Historical information about a bridge or railway junction is therefore not used as evidence of ordnance contamination on every neighbouring property.

The excavation including its ancillary works

If, for example, an underground car park is planned on a developed property, excavation support, tie-back anchors, utility diversions and temporary access may be needed alongside the excavation. Include these interventions in planning. The eventual building footprint alone does not show which ground volumes are affected during construction. On an existing developed property, older basement and foundation plans, demolition records and available elevation information help distinguish earlier and present ground conditions. Mark known fill and ground layers still unresolved. Specialist planners can then recognise which layer or construction condition an older finding relates to. If documents conflict, the outstanding question and its spatial reference are clarified before the affected execution.

Working together

Distinguish the tasks of client, designers and specialist contractor

Client and operator

The client describes the project and provides existing project documents. The operator adds requirements concerning use, access and timing. A named contact coordinates assigned tasks with the responsible participants involved. Before commissioning, clearly record which information is missing, who obtains it and which decision the result is intended to prepare. For a site remaining in use, the operator identifies traffic routes, working areas and operational processes that must remain available during specialist works. Designers compare these conditions with the investigation areas actually needed. Preliminary services and handovers are agreed with the respective responsible participants on that basis.

Planning and construction management

Specialist planning describes areas, depths, construction methods and changes. Site management coordinates the proposed work sequence with contractors and the agreed specialist works. Results are related to each intervention. Technical plan changes are communicated early enough for their influence on the investigation task to be assessed before execution. Organisational construction section boundaries remain distinguishable from technical investigation boundaries. Tender documents should clearly identify available official information and technical documents. Bidders need a traceable service scope and information about access, construction phases and known limitations. If new findings arise later, the affected plan and construction versions are brought together and further commissioning clarified.

Specialist company and competent bodies

The private explosive ordnance specialist company addresses the agreed investigation and documentation scope permissible for the activity. Official requirements and decisions are clarified with the respective competent authorities. In Cologne, the Amt für öffentliche Ordnung is the municipal interface for explosive ordnance disposal, supported by the KBD Rheinland at the Düsseldorf district government. Building control and other specialist departments involved retain their own tasks within the construction project. The technical report describes the specialist work performed and is used in the further procedure according to its investigation purpose.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

Review existing knowledge before method selection

The assessment, official communication and existing technical reports are read alongside today’s project. This shows which state steps are complete and which task remains outstanding. A private service is agreed using that procedural status and applicable prerequisites. Construction method, investigation objective and permissible activity scope are considered together before method selection.

Assess historical documents

Define specialist foundation engineering specifically

For a supplementary investigation, describe proposed deep structural elements with their positions and orientations. Existing utilities and foundations are relevant boundary conditions. Technical method suitability and state-specific legal conditions must correspond. Point-specific findings are assigned their actual scope in the report and are not used as a result for the entire area.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Describe the construction task beyond the building footprint

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

Show the excavation and support together

The eventual underground car park represents only part of the area affected during construction. Working volumes, excavation support and any tie-back anchors therefore belong in intervention planning. Show the positions and depths of these elements together. Existing results are compared with the entire working area. The boundaries of an older report remain visible even if the new building lies on the same property. This also applies to infill development in confined existing surroundings: in addition to the main excavation, a crane foundation, sump excavation or temporary dewatering may create further interventions. Describe these ancillary works with their proposed depths and construction periods. If a change occurs, compare the affected area with the previous investigation scope; the specialist company receives the updated plan and specific question to be answered before the next works.

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

Divert utilities before the new building

A utility diversion may be necessary before the main excavation. Its route, additional chambers and interfaces with existing infrastructure are recorded as separate groundworks. Investigation of the later building area does not automatically cover this route. Identify the timing and utility operators involved so that documents are available before each intervention. For handover between the utility operator, civil engineering contractor and building designers, identify each section’s start and end unambiguously. An additional excavation at an existing connection may reach depths or layers different from the continuous utility trench. Mark these points and known operational restrictions. Documents remain understandable if another contractor makes the later connection or resumes work after interruption.

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

Consider peripheral areas and adjacent use

Neighbouring buildings and routes remaining in use may limit the working volume available. Describe these conditions on the current site plan. Access for investigation and technical assessability require separate assessment. An organisationally accessible area may not be equally investigable everywhere. Known limitations are communicated with their locations. On sites remaining in operation, usable access, delivery routes and setup areas needed are agreed with the operator. Road and track areas also involve their respective traffic or operating phases. Record which subarea is actually ready at the agreed investigation appointment. Occupied or built-over areas are managed separately on the plan. If made available later, their condition is compared with the plans again before specialist work.

Specialist services and investigation tasks
Preparation

Prepare the scope and commission together

For a private specialist service in Cologne, clarify the state investigation status and prerequisites for the specific activity scope intended. The construction task and results needed then determine further commissioning.

Establish what needs to be known before commissioning the work

For the commission, first clarify which decision is to be prepared. Is the task initial interpretation of existing documents, investigation of a particular area or work on an already assessed finding? These tasks need different underlying information. A general desire for safety does not describe an executable investigation scope. The enquiry therefore identifies the intervention, position, depth and available knowledge. Suitable specialist works and results documents needed are then agreed. For property acquisition or tendering, complete reports with their maps and appendices are requested. Clarify which findings already exist and which are still needed for current planning. Also describe proposed partial sales or handover to other clients if these create later construction sections. Each quotation should make its initial documents, desired result and existing limitations traceable. A specialist service can then be related to its actual scope.

Define the specialist task

Coordinate preparatory work with the investigation

Access and measurement conditions required are clarified before the appointment. This may include areas to keep clear, available utility information and coordination with other trades. Preparatory works actually needed follow the chosen method and site. Surface changes or additional interventions are not undertaken on personal initiative solely to prepare a measurement. Their sequence is agreed with specialist planners and responsible participants. Provision of borehole or measurement access is planned alongside the specialist work itself. This includes information about utilities, underground structures, affected surfaces and responsible contacts. Record which preparatory works must be carried out and who commissions them before the appointment. If use must be interrupted, project managers agree the available period with the operator. Technical feasibility is additionally assessed using the actual condition.

Clarify preparatory work in the programme

Agree a clear scope and schedule

A reliable sequence distinguishes work already technically clarified from outstanding requirements. If an area will be only partly accessible, commissioning must consider this. Results handover and assessment also need time in the construction sequence. Costs and dates are agreed for the described service scope and prerequisites still to be fulfilled. Specific coordination connects the described scope with access, documents, execution conditions and the decision date needed. Costing considers, among other things, size and subdivision of the areas to be addressed, number of investigation points, accessibility and preparatory works needed. Technical assessment and the agreed report and plan documents are additional. State procedures, private specialist works and preliminary works by construction participants are assigned separately in the sequence. If scope or execution conditions change, the affected effort is discussed with the client.

Discuss the scope and schedule
Tasks at the site

Which interventions belong in the plans?

01

The excavation and neighbouring buildings

Show working volumes and proposed excavation support alongside the eventual foundations. Identify accessible areas and adjacent buildings where they may affect investigation. Where basements or underground structural elements exist, traceable as-built plans assist identification. Mark areas without reliable information. For an underground car park in dense development, excavation edges, neighbouring foundations and utility connections are considered together. Excavation support and tie-back anchors may need investigation with a spatial reference different from the excavation formation level. Proposed piling, sheet piles or diaphragm walls are also described with their actual positions and effects. Further investigations needed are assessed using available results and officially clarified prerequisites.

02

Changes of use on operational sites

For proposed alterations, compile existing foundations, former utilities and known ground surface changes. Demolition and new construction may involve different subareas and depths. Contaminated land documents may supply additional property information, but their question differs from an explosive ordnance investigation. For a former industrial, railway or military site, known use and demolition phases are related to today’s subareas. Slag, metal remnants and filled structures may affect both construction sequence and assessability. Specialist planning distinguishes explosive ordnance investigation from environmental soil assessment. A later owner or user receives the respective results with their own investigation purposes and outstanding tasks.

03

Roads, tracks and utilities

Describe an infrastructure project including crossings, chambers, foundations and temporary construction conditions. Show which sections are accessible and when. Coordinate traffic and operating phases with investigation planning. Method suitability must be assessed technically independently of this. For work beside operating tracks or on traffic areas, agree usable working windows and responsibility for access and protection with the respective operator. Known utilities, signalling installations and metal structures must be recorded for investigation planning. Specialist work remains tied to the areas actually accessible and agreed depths. If a route crosses several construction sections, results are documented section by section with unambiguous connection points.

04

Bridges and structural elements near water

If the project includes such areas, spatially separate proposed land interventions from works in water. Excavations, service connections and foundation elements need clear position and depth references. Investigation of adjacent land does not establish findings for a water area or further construction section. Existing structures at bridge abutments, ramps, quays and bank protection may restrict access to the investigation area. Known fill, former construction conditions and relevant water levels are therefore included in planning. For works in water, clarify the separate specialist task and necessary water-related coordination before commissioning. An investigation on land is assigned its documented area; additional requirements for another bank section or water area are determined separately.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Bring construction planning and specialist planning together

Use clear plan versions for excavation, foundations and support. If any of these plans change, participants check the relationship with existing investigations before execution. A shared project name is insufficient for this comparison. The relevant version must remain identifiable for site management and the specialist company. Plan designations, dates and spatial references are retained for identification. A moved foundation, additional depth or changed route is passed to the specialist company as a change. For larger projects, planning may distinguish areas already assessed, areas still needing investigation and areas currently inaccessible. Site management and the client can then base the upcoming decision on the status actually documented.

Identify connection points between commissions

If another contractor builds a utility section, its connection to the main excavation remains a shared interface. Record which investigation covers which area. Hand complete reports and appendices to the next construction phase. An unresolved subarea is explicitly identified, not concealed by completion of a neighbouring section. This also applies to handing investigation results to designers, approval procedures and later operators. Alongside the summary, recipients receive site plans and report sections relevant to their task. When companies change, outstanding points and works already performed are explicitly communicated. If clearance works were performed, the clearance record with subareas treated, actual clearance scope and results is passed to the subsequent contractor. A connection area not yet addressed remains identifiable as such pending further clarification.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Before the first utility diversion

Clarify whether the earliest construction section already lies outside the later main excavation. The relevant documents and decisions must exist before that intervention. An investigation appointment planned later for the underground car park does not fulfil this task. The construction sequence is therefore considered together with each work’s spatial boundaries. Scheduling considers early municipal involvement as well as provision of the private specialist service. Actual processing time depends, among other things, on knowledge available and procedural steps needed. Preparatory interventions, such as an initial utility diversion or necessary foundation demolition, are identified with their own start dates. The findings needed can then be scheduled before those exact works.

Coordinate the construction phase with us

At the transition to specialist foundation engineering

Before execution, final structural element positions are compared with documented investigations. Moved piles, different excavation support or additional connection excavations must be marked as changes. The previous report remains available with its appendices. Outstanding technical questions are clarified before the affected works and passed to the responsible participants. Clearly labelled structural element or point lists referring to the current site plan are suitable for handover. If execution changes, the specialist company receives the new information and can identify the affected investigation requirement. An outstanding assessment is considered in the further sequence. Contractors receive the results needed for their working section, including the corresponding limitations.

Coordinate the construction phase with us
Method selection

Select methods according to the task and survey conditions

Historical records and aerial photographs

Historical aerial photograph assessment and other old records help place the basis for suspicion in its spatial context. The available images, their evidential value and the limits of the area considered matter. The absence of an identifiable indication must be distinguished from a technically surveyed ground area. The assessment is considered together with the planned intervention and other available findings. It can support the choice of a survey, but is not a measurement of the present-day subsurface or confirmation for all future works.

Understand aerial photograph assessment

Magnetometric survey

Magnetometric methods detect magnetic anomalies. Whether they can address the specific survey task depends, among other things, on the expected objects, ground conditions, interference and required survey area. Fences, utilities or existing structures may affect interpretation. A measurement signal is therefore not described as ordnance solely because of its strength. Method, interpretation and any further investigation are planned as a connected specialist task.

Understand the scope of magnetometry

Electromagnetic methods

Electromagnetic investigations can be suitable for particular metallic targets and site conditions. Their suitability must be explained for the task, rather than inferred simply from the availability of equipment. Interfering installations, accessible areas and the findings required must also be considered. Results are documented with their location and survey conditions. The specialist assessment determines whether a supplementary method is needed; this remains a project-specific decision.

Understand electromagnetic surveying

Ground-penetrating radar

Under suitable conditions, ground-penetrating radar can provide information about subsurface structures and reflections. Ground conditions, moisture, installations and the particular survey task affect interpretability. An anomaly is not automatically ordnance, and an area with no apparent anomalies is not general evidence for arbitrary depths. The specialist interpretation and its limits are documented with the instruction. A survey for another purpose is not adopted without checking as ordnance evidence.

GPR and limitations

Deep-ground and downhole surveys

For deeper groundworks, it may be necessary to establish whether a surface investigation can provide the required findings or another approach is needed. Preparation includes the location, depth, borehole layout and existing services. Creating access for the investigation must also be properly planned by specialists. A general depth figure or standard grid cannot replace that work. Findings remain limited to the areas actually investigated and the method used.

Prepare deep interventions

Survey during construction

If a necessary preliminary investigation cannot be completed, the specialists assess whether a planned approach during construction is suitable. This includes coordinated investigation, interpretation and communication of findings within the intended work sequence. Visual observation of excavated material is not an interchangeable substitute for a necessary survey. Site management needs a clear description of when specialist work will take place, how new findings will be handled and which areas remain unresolved.

Agree the approach during construction
Technical assessment

Which investigations may be privately commissioned?

Clarify the status of the state assessment

The historical aerial photograph analysis and other official documents form the starting point for coordination. Cologne’s guidance places private occupational safety activities after the state assessment. Before commissioning, therefore clarify which state steps remain outstanding and which supplementary task a private company may undertake. Under Cologne’s procedure, aerial photograph analysis and the regulatory authority’s statement are read together. Before downhole detection for specialist foundation engineering or explosive ordnance clearance during construction, the municipal status report required for this must be available. The situation described in it and further requirements are related to the current construction area. The specific commission then records which permissible private specialist task remains and which documents it requires.

Describe specialist foundation engineering separately

For piles, excavation support or comparable interventions, a borehole survey may be considered within the exceptions provided for under state-specific law. Positions and orientations of structural elements and existing investigation results belong in technical preparation. A general service specification replaces neither assessment of these prerequisites nor necessary coordination. The exception relates to the specified site conditions and limited activity scope. Specific indications of ordnance contamination established by the state remain subject to the relevant official procedure. Before opening up a suspicion arising from detection, the appointment must be agreed early with the local regulatory authority. Required notifications under explosives legislation and actual commissioning are assigned to the respective responsible participants.

Record interference and areas that cannot be assessed

Utilities and metal installations may affect measurements. Surveying therefore requires assessment of actual conditions and identification of areas that cannot be assessed. A measure during construction is not a freely selectable substitute for intended state detection methods; its prerequisites and procedural position need separate clarification. For the next decision, describe the subarea where a result is missing and the site conditions relevant to this. If a recognised method cannot be used to obtain meaningful results, clarify the permissible supplementary approach and its planning. This includes a task-specific risk assessment, required sequence and communication of new findings. Responsible participants receive a traceable description of the areas still to be addressed.

Next steps

Coordinate using current plans

01

Assign the documents

Compile official information, earlier reports and current construction plans. For the initial project enquiry, discuss the construction task and decision still needed. Check existing official information, aerial photograph analyses and investigation reports for plan version, spatial coverage, depth reference and outstanding questions concerning today’s task. Municipal statements are read with their corresponding maps. Missing underlying information and responsible contacts are identified for the next step.

02

Draw ground interventions

Show the position and depth of the excavation, specialist foundation works and other interventions. Excavation support, tie-back anchors, connection excavations and temporary construction conditions also receive traceable position and depth references. Add known utilities, foundations and usable access to the plan. If positions or construction methods change, update documents before technical work. Further investigation can then focus on the area actually needed.

03

Supplement historical information

The City of Cologne initiates the necessary aerial photograph analysis by the state KBD. If available knowledge needs supplementing, further historical research is performed for the specific question. Available aerial photographs, maps and use records are technically assessed and related to today’s construction area. Findings inform further investigation planning. The state analysis is used with the local statement and actual construction project.

04

Clarify commissioning

Clarify which services may be privately commissioned. The established state procedural status is connected with the permissible private task. The specialist company selects the technically suitable approach using the investigation objective, grounds for suspicion, ground composition, interference and accessibility. Necessary preparatory works, authorisations and responsibilities are identified. Scope, results documents and interfaces with the construction sequence are agreed before execution.

05

Investigate and assess results

Within the agreed and permissible scope, the defined areas or points are investigated using a suitable method. The data collected are recorded with location, depth reference and site conditions. Specialist personnel assess results and anomalies according to the investigation objective, method and interference. A measurement anomaly is not yet identified ordnance. Further clarification required and areas not adequately investigated are identified; local reporting procedures apply if ordnance is found.

06

Hand over results

Compare investigated areas and outstanding tasks with site management. Work performed and its technical assessment are documented in a report with the corresponding site and plan appendices. Methods, areas actually investigated, depth references and limitations of findings remain traceable. The client and designers compare the documented status with the next construction phase. Specialist works or official decisions still needed are identified and pursued before the interventions they concern.

Documentation

What site management must establish from the report

Findings and their scope

A result must be relatable to the areas and depths actually investigated. For a later construction phase, the corresponding plans, measurement conditions and stated limitations are therefore as important as the summary result. If foundations or utility alignments change, compare the previous findings scope with the plans again. The report brings together the investigation objective, underlying information used, method applied and technical assessment. Measurement or point data are labelled so their relationship to the site plan can be traced. Later works require a distinction between what was actually investigated and which areas remain unresolved. On handover to new owners, operators or insurers, the complete report and appendices are provided together.

Project responsibilities

Hazard prevention and the necessary decisions rest with the competent authorities. FONTANA-EOD’s report contains the results of agreed investigations and identifies their limitations. For official procedures, it is submitted according to its actual purpose with other necessary documents. When site management changes or property is handed over, complete reports and appendices are passed on. Which findings can be used for later planning is checked using the documented scope.

Working approach

How FONTANA-EOD works

Document the agreed specialist service clearly

We assess planned groundworks using the documents available and their plan version. Before work, we agree with you what is to be investigated, which areas are accessible and which results are needed. If plans or the site situation change, we check whether the agreed scope still fits.

The report states what was actually investigated and which limitations apply to the findings. Designers and site management can then identify which results they can use and where questions remain to be clarified.

The client and specialist company establish the result needed at completion and the form in which it is to be handed over. For multiple construction sections, interfaces are identified beforehand. Ongoing communication concerns actual changes, obstacles and additional findings. For a necessary extension, the scope is agreed again and corresponding documentation connected with the previous status.

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

Make tie-back anchors identifiable on the plan

An anchor may affect ground outside the visible excavation edge. Describe its proposed alignment and spatial boundaries in the plans. Whether existing results are usable for it is checked using their documented scope. Property rights and technical investigation each need separate clarification. For an inclined tie-back anchor, its spatial relationship to existing results must be shown particularly traceably. Construction plans and the technical findings actually needed are considered together. If they differ from earlier work, the specialist company receives the current version and identifies the additional clarification needed for that exact area.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

Distinguish assessable and unresolved areas

A report may contain reliable findings for individual areas while identifying limitations. Both belong together in handover. Site management needs the corresponding plan and depth reference. A general label of investigated must not conceal outstanding questions. For the next decision, compare the report’s scope with the proposed construction phase. Different positions, depths or areas not yet reached are assigned to the relevant intervention. The responsible project participants can then agree further work and its timing in the sequence. If a new report is prepared, its relationship to the older status and outstanding technical issues remain traceable.

Understand the service scope
Design and findings

Documents for the next construction decision

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

Historical evidence and the current design

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

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

Specialist reports for site management

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

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

Questions about explosive ordnance assessment for construction projects in Cologne

Can an already developed property in Cologne be altered without further assessment?

Existing development alone does not answer this question. The City of Cologne explicitly notes possible explosive ordnance even in areas developed after the war. The responsible authority and existing documents must be involved for the new project; the scope needed follows the specific task. Involve the city before planned ground interventions and use the current plan and complete existing explosive ordnance documents. This also concerns new works beside an existing building or an initial utility diversion before the later main construction section.

Which private specialist works may be considered in Cologne?

Before private commissioning, clarify the state investigation status and permissible specific specialist task. The KampfmittelVO NRW and local requirements limit the intended exceptions. The necessary Cologne status report must be observed for downhole detection in specialist foundation engineering and explosive ordnance clearance during construction. Required site conditions, authorisations and coordination are assigned to the actual commission.

Which information is needed for an underground car park?

The site plan, planned excavation and elevation or depth information are helpful. Add excavation support, any tie-back anchors, utility diversions and existing basements. Include available official information and investigation reports with their appendices.

Must every construction site in Cologne follow the same sequence of measurement methods?

No. Technically suitable steps depend on the knowledge available, interventions, measurement conditions and agreed procedure. A method cannot be established solely from a district name. Limitations or supplementary requirements must be assessed for the specific project.

What applies if a suspicious object is found in excavated material?

Stop work in the affected area and keep your distance. Do not touch or move the object. Notify the police on 110 and follow their instructions. A normal project enquiry to a company does not replace immediate notification of the find.

Do tie-back anchors belong in the project description?

Yes, where proposed. Their alignment and position may extend beyond the excavation. They are therefore compared with documented investigation boundaries; a site plan of the eventual building alone is insufficient.

What must be clarified before a utility diversion outside the main excavation?

The utility alignment, depth and additional excavations are related to existing documents. If outside the documented scope, the necessary further clarification remains outstanding before the intervention.

Which cost factors and dates must be clarified before commissioning?

The complete state of knowledge, ground volumes actually needed, conditions around existing structures and construction sequence are decisive. Distinguishing state steps from the permissible private task is also necessary. Cost assessment considers scope and methods, number and accessibility of investigation areas, necessary preparatory works, assessment and documentation. State measures, preparation by construction participants and a permissible private specialist service are distinguished. Scheduling depends on the official documents needed, access conditions and construction sequence. Specific coordination uses the described task and prerequisites actually still outstanding.

Project enquiry

Send documents for your project in Cologne

Send the excavation and ancillary works

Include excavation support, tie-back anchors, utility diversions and their depths in the current plan. Add official communications and technical reports in full with their appendices. Where available, geotechnical and contaminated land documents help describe ground composition and earlier changes. Mark missing information on foundations, fill or utilities. The municipal procedure also requires compilation of access and utility information according to its requirements. Documents retain their reference to the respective application or existing assessment.

Identify the first intervention

State which groundworks are proposed first and which areas will then be accessible. Identify changes from earlier investigations and name the responsible contacts. State the next decision, demolition status and planned execution section. Following interruption or a change of company, pass on previous results with their location and plan references. The client can then discuss the investigation and documentation scope still needed while outstanding official steps continue with the responsible authorities.

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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