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

Explosive ordnance surveying in Mönchengladbach

Before demolition, foundations or connection works, clarify what the previous explosive ordnance assessment covers and which investigations remain outstanding. Submitting an application alone does not answer this. FONTANA-EOD supports preparation of your project in Mönchengladbach and documents the commissioned specialist services with their results and limitations.

Procedural status

Record responses received and assessments still open.

Construction phases

Consider demolition, foundations and connections separately.

Handover

Pass on reports and outstanding tasks.

Discuss the next construction phaseExplosive ordnance assessment in North Rhine-Westphalia
Assess the construction project

Clarify procedural status before the next construction section

A submitted application says nothing about completed investigations. For your project in Mönchengladbach, we relate official responses and technical results to the next ground interventions. New foundations, utilities or demolition works are considered with their actual scope.

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.

Connect Mönchengladbach coordination with the construction sequence

The Ordnungsamt checks submitted documents for completeness and forwards them to the explosive ordnance disposal service of the Düsseldorf district government for aerial photograph analysis. The city also describes its coordinating and intermediary role. Resulting tasks and investigations performed remain individually traceable for the specific project. For each site plan, identify the corresponding document version and authority responsible for the project location.

Mönchengladbach is an independent city in the Düsseldorf administrative district in North Rhine-Westphalia. For a project in the city centre, Rheydt, Eicken, Neuwerk, Holt, Hehn, Hardt, the Hardter Wald area, Odenkirchen, Giesenkirchen or Wickrath, provide the address, cadastral parcel and affected ground area. These location details help identify maps and existing official information. For enquiries from Viersen, Willich, Korschenbroich, Nettetal, Krefeld, Jüchen or other places along the Lower Rhine, municipal responsibility is determined from the actual location. A district name alone does not establish investigation requirements for the property. For other project locations, the regional allocation of ordnance investigation helps prepare the enquiry.

North Rhine-Westphalia
Local context

Compare historical use and today’s construction sections

Application procedure through Mönchengladbach’s Ordnungsamt

The City of Mönchengladbach describes applying for aerial photograph analysis to the Ordnungsamt. Documents are registered and checked for completeness there before being forwarded to the state explosive ordnance disposal service of the Düsseldorf district government. The city also explains its intermediary and, where applicable, coordinating role for the measures established.

The municipal photographic documentation shows Mönchengladbach’s upper town burning after the air raid of 31 August 1943. Available historical aerial photographs and administrative records help trace former development and subsequent changes for a specific area. The City Archives provide catalogued official records and an aerial photograph archive for this. Historical city context is connected with the actual property location. Whether further investigation is needed follows from the existing assessment and planned intervention.

Assign measures before the next construction phase

For construction planning, record what was applied for, which response exists and which measures remain outstanding. FONTANA-EOD’s technical preparation builds on this. Necessary official decisions and investigations must be clarified before the works they concern; the desired start date does not replace them.

For former industrial or commercial sites, for example with documented textile or mechanical engineering use, records are compared with today’s foundations and site servicing works. This also applies to railway, shunting, station and bridge areas, former military, storage or transport facilities and redeveloped sites. Reconstruction, relocation of rubble, demolition, fill and later infill development may have changed today’s ground composition. A use category describes the reason for reviewing documents. The events actually substantiated and their locations are related to the upcoming construction section rather than assuming general ordnance contamination across a district.

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.

Mönchengladbach’s Ordnungsamt receives the application for aerial photograph analysis and forwards complete documents to the state explosive ordnance disposal service of the Düsseldorf district government. The KBD determines the necessary state investigation measures. The city coordinates and acts as intermediary for these measures within its remit. A permissible private investigation or supplementary supervision is agreed separately with its specific scope. For a location outside the city, the local regulatory authority is determined from the actual municipality. The need for further ordnance recovery is clarified with the competent authorities according to the findings.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

Identify outstanding clarification

Read the official response with its corresponding plans. It must show which further work is proposed and the area the information concerns. A receipt confirmation is not an investigation result. Unclear requirements are clarified with the responsible authority before a supplementary technical commission is established.

Assess historical documents

Define the next specialist task

For the imminent intervention, describe the area, depth and known conditions. The scope of findings still needed can then be determined. The permissible private service is checked separately within NRW’s framework. Time pressure or a construction date already agreed replaces neither necessary prerequisites nor outstanding state measures.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Know the actual status for each construction section

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

Consider early utility works separately

Utility works may precede building construction. They therefore need their own comparison with existing documents. Describe the areas and depths affected and intended sequence. An application already submitted for the overall project does not establish completed processing of the first section to be executed.

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

Include below-ground demolition

If existing structural elements below the surface are changed or removed, that intervention belongs in the project description. The term demolition alone does not show the ground volume affected. Available as-built plans and proposed depths assist identification. Missing information is clarified before further service definition.

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

Communicate foundation changes before execution

Changed foundations may affect new areas or depths. Therefore compare the current plan with documented investigation results. An unchanged building above ground does not mean the groundworks also remain the same. The new plan version is passed to all affected participants.

Document findings and their limitations
Preparation

Prepare the scope and commission together

Before commissioning, establish the investigation needed, the specific Mönchengladbach procedural status and private activity permissible for it. Describe the planned intervention and findings needed.

Establish what needs to be known before commissioning the work

First establish which decision the commission needs to support. Is the task an initial assessment of existing documents, an investigation of a specific area or examination of an anomaly that has already been assessed? These tasks require different evidence. A general wish for safety does not define an investigation that can be carried out. The enquiry therefore specifies the groundworks, location, depth and available findings. Suitable specialist work and the required reporting are then agreed on that basis.

Define the specialist task

Coordinate preparatory work with the investigation

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

Clarify preparatory work in the programme

Agree a clear scope and schedule

A realistic programme distinguishes technically resolved work from prerequisites that are still outstanding. If only part of a site will be accessible, the commission must take this into account. Handover and assessment of the results also need time in the construction programme. The schedule and effort are agreed once the scope, access and prerequisites are clear. This coordination brings together the specified scope, access, documents, site conditions and the date by which a decision is needed.

Discuss the scope and schedule
Tasks at the site

Groundworks due in the next construction phase

01

Demolition involving ground interventions

If demolition also concerns foundations or underground structural elements, describe these works explicitly within the project. State the positions and depths of the elements affected. The term “building demolition” alone is insufficient. Existing findings must be compared with the interventions actually proposed.

02

Foundations and excavation support

Changed foundations or an additional support element may create a different investigation task. Enter the position and installation depth on the current plan. Which measure is technically and legally permissible is clarified using the specific findings and competent determinations.

03

Utilities and site servicing

For connection works brought forward, it must likewise be clear whether existing evidence covers their areas. If service connections are installed before the main construction measure, clarify which investigations exist for that earlier section and what remains outstanding.

04

Handover to another trade

Give the next contractor the report, corresponding site plan and documented limitations. A communication such as “checked” leaves unclear which area is meant. Also identify outstanding tasks and the contacts responsible for them.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Keep the application, response and result separate

A traceable project overview identifies documents submitted, the response available and technical works actually documented. These steps serve different tasks. Scheduling must not confuse receipt of a document with completion of an investigation. Outstanding processes remain clearly identified. An agreed appointment describes organisation; documented work and the complete results report are decisive for construction.

A shared document list distinguishes the application, results communication, technical reports and outstanding requests for further information. Each document is identified with its date, file reference, plan revision and appendices. A map marks areas addressed and those still unresolved. If several companies work in succession, record who receives documents and answers questions. Before early utility works or below-ground demolition, it can then be checked which findings actually concern that section. Missing appendices are requested specifically.

Hand over between trades with complete documents

At the transition from demolition to civil engineering or utility installation to foundations, the relevant status is passed on. This includes maps, reports and outstanding questions. A general communication about work so far is insufficient. The next company must be able to relate its specific works to existing results.

At results handover, the investigation task, areas and depths addressed, methods, assessment and limitations belong together. The next company receives the corresponding plans and outstanding tasks applicable to its section. A clearance record documents subsequent works insofar as actually commissioned and permissibly performed. Site management compares the new intervention with this status. Specialist additions and official steps needed are identified before the relevant execution. Organisational construction section boundaries remain distinguishable from technical investigation boundaries.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Before establishing the first groundworks date

Establish which official and technical steps remain outstanding. The first intervention may already be a preparatory utility line or below-ground demolition. Relate existing results to it. A general construction start should not omit these early activities from coordination.

Coordinate the construction phase with us

Before handing over the next construction section

Compare the new task with the areas and depths covered so far. Record plan changes and additional requirements. Hand complete documents to the next site management team. Completion of one section does not establish blanket findings for another area not yet adequately considered.

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

Coordinate investigation status and construction

Aerial photograph analysis and existing reports

The historical aerial photograph analysis is one component of investigation. The result must match the application area and proposed measure. Compare existing assessments and official communications with the current plan. Check which investigations are complete and which areas remain unresolved.

The municipal building control information requires, among other things, project and property details, a description of groundworks, intended construction start and the building authority file reference for aerial photograph analysis. It also requires a DIN-A4 extract of the cadastral map at 1:1000 with the investigation area outlined in red. For an extension, identify the area to be developed. The map representation needed for the official application and detailed construction plan serve different tasks. Both are connected with the same project so that later investigation spatially matches the planned intervention.

Coordinate investigation and site logistics

For a surface survey, actual measurement conditions are relevant. Accessible areas, existing installations and possible interference belong in preparation. Consider these prerequisites when scheduling. Time pressure does not extend an investigation result’s findings.

For the transition from demolition to foundations, also state the working level. A depth may refer to the original ground surface, an excavation formation level already created or another working level. These references must remain clear in plans and reports. Moved pile positions, inclined support elements or a deeper utility crossing are checked against the areas actually investigated. A change list identifies the new execution and replaced plan version. Applicable earlier results remain usable; additional findings are established for the changed intervention.

Plan investigation and site logistics together: which working areas remain accessible to specialists, where will materials be stored, and which utilities or installations remain operational? Assessment considers existing interference sources and the investigation depths needed. An area accessible today may change later through a new site fence, fill or additional installations. Changes are therefore communicated before execution. For each subarea, identify the measurement conditions and imminent works for which findings are needed.

Plan supervision during construction with its prerequisites

A specialist supervision service during construction is not a blanket substitute for missing preliminary investigation. Private activities in North Rhine-Westphalia are subject to the intended legal and technical requirements. Mere visual observation of excavation does not replace planned detection and provides no general evidence for the entire later intervention area.

For proposed supervision, investigation, assessment and communication of findings are incorporated into the construction sequence. Technical justification considers which recognised methods can be used to obtain meaningful results under the site conditions and which prerequisites apply to supplementary activity. The commissioned scope identifies working sections, companies involved and communication of new findings. Mere presence beside an excavator does not describe this specialist task. Before the affected work starts, site management needs clarity on the intended sequence and handling of unresolved areas.

Next steps

Check before the next ground intervention

01

Initial contact and assessment of the evidence

At first contact, identify the next ground intervention and intended construction section. Applications, official responses, file references and plan versions are reviewed together with complete earlier reports. If reliable historical information is missing, necessary aerial photograph analysis by the state KBD is initiated through the Ordnungsamt. Unresolved questions about former use or ground changes require research and technical assessment of available historical records and images. The result relates indications to the property area actually affected and describes further clarification requirements.

02

Establish methods and investigation scope

Identify missing documents, necessary further investigations and responsible authorities. The current plan describes demolition, foundations and connection works with their respective positions and depths. This establishes the findings needed. The suitable method is selected according to ground conditions, target objects, interference and accessibility. State measures are handled through the local procedure; permissible private tasks receive a separate service specification. Preparatory works and technical assessment needed are planned from the outset.

03

Investigate and assess findings

The proposed ground intervention is compared with the investigation status reached. The agreed survey or technically justified supplementary supervision is carried out under the established conditions. Data and observations are assessed and documented with location references. Usable findings, anomalies and areas with limited assessability remain identifiable. New findings are passed to the responsible participants; further investigations and necessary official steps are derived from them. Plan changes enter this comparison before the affected execution.

04

Document and coordinate the next work

Results, limitations and remaining tasks are handed over before the working section changes. The report and maps identify the area actually investigated, depth reference, methods and assessment of findings. Subsequent site management or the next trade compares its planned work with this documented scope. Outstanding technical questions and necessary official steps remain assigned to the affected section. A new position, additional depth or changed construction method is checked before execution. Complete appendices remain part of the project file.

Documentation

Record applications, responses and investigation results

Identify procedural status and technical results

Retain the application, official response and technical reports with their corresponding plans. The affected areas must be identifiable unambiguously in every document. Mark plan changes so that it can be checked whether existing results also cover the new plans.

Project responsibilities

FONTANA-EOD documents the commissioned service scope and its results. Outstanding decisions and investigations must remain identifiable in the project file. The BFR Kampfmittelräumung can provide a technical framework; their direct application concerns federal matters. Local decisions and project-specific requirements must be considered 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 procedural step is not blanket completion

The application, official assessment and technical execution are documented separately. Only then can it be established what is still needed for the next intervention. A brief status message should refer to the corresponding documents. It must not extend their spatial or technical limitations.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

The first ground intervention determines coordination requirements

Preparatory works may precede the main construction service. Their areas and depths therefore belong in planning and document handover. A later building construction start is not a suitable substitute for this information. The actual sequence of proposed interventions is decisive.

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 sequencing in Mönchengladbach

Where is the application for aerial photograph analysis submitted?

The City of Mönchengladbach identifies the Ordnungsamt as the receiving authority. After registration and completeness checks, the documents are forwarded to the explosive ordnance disposal service of the Düsseldorf district government. Use current municipal guidance for the specific application. Submit the enquiry early during planning before proposed ground interventions, including utility works brought forward and below-ground demolition.

Which information helps with the application?

The city specifies, among other things, contact, property and project details, a description particularly of groundworks, planned construction start, the building authority file reference and a map of the affected area. Official statements and reports already available also assist the technical enquiry.

May construction begin as soon as the application is submitted?

Submitting an application alone does not confirm completion of necessary investigations. Before each ground intervention, clarify procedural status, applicable conditions and investigations still needed. The proposed construction start date does not replace this assessment. The subsequent sequence connects necessary historical assessment with method selection, investigation or suitable supervision, assessment of findings, documentation and comparison before the next execution.

What must be checked when foundations change?

Compare the position and depth of the new foundations with the area previously investigated and documented limitations. Supplementary requirements depend on the individual case. The change should enter technical and, where necessary, official coordination before execution. Method selection considers ground conditions, installations, interference, target objects and depth needed. Areas with limited assessability remain documented with their boundaries.

Who must be informed of a possible explosive ordnance find?

Stop work in the affected area. Do not touch or move the object, keep your distance and notify the police on 110. A project enquiry to a company does not replace this reporting route. Warn others without endangering yourself and keep the affected area clear.

Which works may be relevant before building construction?

For example, preparatory utility lines or below-ground demolition. The ground interventions actually proposed with their areas and depths are decisive, not the name of a construction phase alone.

What helps when several companies work in succession?

A current construction plan with corresponding complete documents and documented outstanding questions. Each company receives the results and limitations relevant to its specific task.

Which factors determine effort and costs?

The investigation area, depth, suitable method, interference sources, accessibility, preparatory works and results documents needed are decisive. Effort is described for the private tasks actually permissible. Preparatory groundworks and reinstatement may require additional effort. A quotation requires the planned construction sections and existing results. Changes or further investigations are agreed separately according to the specific requirement.

Project enquiry

Clarify outstanding investigations before the next construction phase

Identify the next intervention

Describe the groundworks proposed first with their positions, depths and timing, and further construction sections. Add the project address, cadastral parcel, construction area, route or borehole plans and decision needed. Also identify areas not yet accessible.

Communicate the actual status

Include the application, official response and existing investigation reports separately and in full. Identify contacts, conditions, outstanding steps and existing utility, geotechnical and as-built records. Maps and appendices stay with their respective reports. Describe your operational or infrastructure project context with its access and operating conditions. Further project locations: Aachen, Eschweiler, Cologne.

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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