Technical map of the Saarpfalz-Kreis with Homburg marked for explosive ordnance assessments and surveys by FONTANA-EOD

Explosive ordnance surveys in Homburg for trenches and chambers

For utility works in Homburg (Saar), project owners, specialist designers and site management need appropriate investigation statements for every trench, chamber and connection. FONTANA-EOD reviews the available ordnance records and carries out the commissioned investigation for the ground interventions described. Send the route plan, individual structures with their depths and the next construction sections. Usable results, supplementary specialist work and handovers for execution are then coordinated.

Section

Show trenches, chambers and excavations on the plan.

Depth

State the planned depth for each structure.

Handover

Hand over reports and outstanding areas to site management.

Discuss construction sections and investigationExplosive ordnance assessment in Saarland
Assess the construction project

How are trenches and deeper chambers prepared together?

Show the utility route and all chambers, connection pits and excavations with their respective depths. Also mark preparatory ground investigations and planned construction phases. Existing investigation results are assigned to these individual ground interventions. A report for a utility section covers a deeper chamber only if its documented statement also covers that chamber’s position and depth.

Project references

Selected project examples

Project site

Connect the site with the specific construction task

Schematic map of Saarland with a quartered coat of arms, alongside a tablet, white safety helmet, pen and notebook.

Coordinate sewer construction projects in Homburg with their surroundings

The earlier find in Gasstraße shows that an incident may also affect traffic and neighbouring uses. For your preparation, the planned ground interventions and operational conditions are recorded. Contacts and access are clarified in good time. The specific route, its individual structures and the specialist findings available for them remain decisive for the investigation.

Homburg (Saar) is the district town of the Saarpfalz-Kreis in Saarland, Germany. For enquiries from the city centre and central neighbourhoods, Erbach, Einöd including Schwarzenacker, Jägersburg or Beeden, the specific project address matters. Projects in surrounding areas, such as Bexbach, Kirkel including Kirkel-Neuhäusel, Neunkirchen (Saar), St. Ingbert or other municipalities, are assigned to their actual location. Kirkel is a separate municipality; Zweibrücken is in Rhineland-Palatinate. Across municipal or state boundaries, records and responsibilities are clarified by section. The specialist service is linked to the information needed for each work site.

Saarland
Local context

What the bomb find in Gasstraße means for other projects

The earlier find during sewer construction

The city of Homburg reports a bomb found during sewer construction in Gasstraße. Its announcement describes coordination between the city, police, ordnance disposal service and other parties. This earlier find required consideration of traffic and neighbouring uses as well as the construction site. It does not establish ordnance contamination of other properties.

Records for your own ground intervention

For your construction project, we need the relevant records: the planned trench route, chambers, excavations, exploratory ground investigations and their depths. An earlier investigation result can be valuable if its spatial assignment is traceable. A general statement about the city or a report of a nearby find is not sufficient.

The city of Homburg documents the severe air raid of 14 March 1945 and the resulting devastation of the city centre. This documented historical context is distinct from the later individual find in Gasstraße. For current planning, the available historical findings are linked to the actual route and its structures. City history and a report of a find do not establish a general statement about every property in Homburg. At industrial, railway, medical or logistics sites, documented former use, subsequent building over and changes of use are considered separately from the current construction task. Known rubble clearance, made ground, soil relocation and reconstruction phases are located using the records available.

Working together

Distinguish the tasks of client, designers and specialist contractor

Client and operator

The project owner describes the project and provides existing records. Operators add information on use, access and timing requirements. A coordinating contact brings the information together. The parties agree their respective tasks and decision-making interfaces. Before commissioning, it is recorded which information is missing, who will obtain it and which next construction decision the result is intended to support.

Planning and construction management

The specialist designers describe areas, depths, construction methods and changes. Site management coordinates the planned sequence with the construction contractors and agreed specialist works. Results are assigned to the respective intervention. A technical plan change is communicated early enough for its effect on the survey task to be assessed before construction. Organisational construction stage boundaries remain distinguishable from technical survey boundaries.

Specialist company and competent bodies

The private specialist ordnance contractor carries out the agreed research, investigation and documentation within the required scope of permits and certificates of competence. In Saarland, the responsible police authorities arrange the hazard response when ammunition is found. The state ordnance disposal service handles wartime ammunition found within its remit. Necessary handovers are coordinated with the responsible authority in good time. The project owner and site management receive the technical report showing the areas treated, results and remaining limitations.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

Compare the information needed for each area

Different depths and conditions may be decisive for a trench, chamber and excavation. Suitable specialist services are coordinated accordingly. Describe known utilities, metal structures and other sources of interference. A single method is not adopted for all areas merely because the works are included in the same construction commission or a common programme.

Compare suitable specialist services

Keep project planning separate from reporting a find

Regular coordination prepares planned works using the records available. If a possible ammunition item is found, work must stop and the police must be notified; the object is left untouched. A project enquiry form is unsuitable for urgently reporting a find. The responsible authorities handle the further hazard response, involving the ordnance disposal service.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Record utility sections and localised ground interventions in full

Two people discussing plans at a table beside a vehicle on a construction site.

Collect findings along the planned route

Collect existing ordnance records for the utility trench and its connections. The exact location of areas investigated must be identifiable. Earlier findings from the surrounding area are assessed by specialists without deriving a general statement about the new route from them. Preparation focuses on the findings available for your own area and outstanding assignments.

For a renewed utility, old site plans may differ from today’s route. Assign earlier investigations to the plans used at the time and mark connections moved since then. Where appendices are missing or names are unclear, the gap is identified specifically. This distinguishes usable preliminary work from an investigation question still outstanding.

Assign reports to the utility route
Two people with a tablet beside a marked construction area; plans lie in the foreground.

Define the investigation task for different depths

A continuous trench may connect to deeper chambers or larger connection pits. Record these areas individually. The specialist approach depends on the information needed in each case and conditions on site. A common project name or contractor does not automatically make different ground interventions the same investigation task along the entire route.

Also show excavation edges, necessary working space and ancillary works. A chamber structure and the area affected by its construction may have different boundaries. Open options remain separately identifiable. Once the construction method is defined, the actual intervention is linked to the agreed investigation scope; additional volumes of ground are clarified by specialists before work takes place there.

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

Document the results for each section clearly

The investigation report should show the area treated, its depths and remaining limitations. Site management must be able to relate the statements to the next work. Where construction proceeds by section, handovers are documented with the corresponding version of the plans. Contractors carrying out work later also receive the complete appendices so that the investigation’s spatial limits remain traceable.

For each handover, the section, structure identifier and version of the plans used are brought together. An already treated trench may adjoin a deep point still outstanding. The documentation records this distinction. A subsequent contractor receives the report and maps together with the outstanding tasks so that it can relate the information needed to the intended volume of ground.

Document findings and their limitations
Preparation

Prepare the scope and commission together

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 sound workflow distinguishes work already clarified technically from outstanding prerequisites. If an area will be accessible only in part, commissioning must take this into account. Handover and assessment of results also need time in the construction sequence. An enquiry therefore does not imply a blanket commitment on dates or cost. Specific coordination connects the described scope with access, documents, execution conditions and the date by which a decision is needed.

Discuss the scope and schedule
Tasks at the site

Consider different depths and construction sections

01

Utility trench and individual deep points

A chamber, connection or transfer point may extend deeper than the adjoining utility trench. Enter the individual depths and reference level used on the plan. This allows each structure to be checked for whether the existing investigation results cover the planned ground intervention.

For a deeper chamber, clearly identify the starting level and planned base level. State whether the ground surface has changed since an earlier investigation. The specialist assessment can then correctly compare the volume investigated at the time with today’s depth. Reusing a chamber number is not sufficient on its own for this comparison of levels.

02

Crossings and additional excavations

If you are planning a utility crossing, also indicate the proposed launch and reception pits and other ground works. Whether and how the ground is affected depends on the construction method chosen. An existing report on an adjoining open trench does not automatically cover this task as well.

The crossing may affect additional volumes of ground outside the normal route. Provide the available planning data rather than infer the scope from a neighbouring section. Utilities and other existing installations are clarified with the responsible operators. The investigation commission specifies the information actually needed for the individual pits and planned route.

03

Expansion during continued use

If a building or business remains in use during construction, investigation areas, vehicle access and other access needed must be coordinated. Before commissioning, state which access is required and when each area will be available. Whether operations can continue unchanged during the investigation must be clarified separately.

Establish which areas must actually be accessible before each investigation. A vehicle access route still needed or an occupied connection area may require work by section. These prerequisites are communicated before the appointment. Specialist planning, the operator and site management coordinate handovers; decisions on ongoing operations remain with those responsible for them.

04

Handover to the next contractor

Where work proceeds by section, subsequent contractors need the current site plan, investigation results and remaining limitations. The handover should identify which section has actually been treated. A general entry in the site diary does not replace the associated specialist records.

Preparatory ground investigations, trial openings and pits are assessed for necessary investigations and protective measures before the relevant intervention. Unknown structures do not need to be exposed by you for an enquiry. Existing plans and accessible information on existing structures are used first. Access still missing remains identifiable in the handover of tasks and is planned further with the prerequisites required.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Include preparatory ground investigations in the planning

An exploratory borehole or trial opening may take place before the main utility construction. Identify these ground interventions with their location, depth and planned date. They are compared with existing findings. Preparation for the later main works should therefore also include work carried out earlier by another contractor that is not shown separately on the final utility plan.

Show construction phases and access opportunities together

State when the areas are accessible and which traffic or operational conditions must be observed. Specialist planning coordinates the sequence with these prerequisites. A planned closure date alone does not replace checking measurement conditions. Access needed, suitable working areas and preceding services are described so that they can actually be provided before the investigation. Where clearance work is carried out, the associated clearance log, including areas treated and depths, is kept in the project file.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Enquire with the trench plan and individual structures together

Provide a plan clearly identifying chambers, connections and deeper excavations. Include sections and existing investigation reports. For the initial discussion it also helps to identify which sections will be built first. Specialist planning can then determine the information needed and possible dependencies without overlooking important individual structures behind a general route description.

Coordinate the construction phase with us

Compare affected ground interventions again after changes

If a chamber moves or a connection pit becomes deeper, mark the change on the plan. Existing results are related specifically to it. Other applicable statements remain in place. Before execution it should be clear which report will be used for the changed area and which additional service may still be required.

Necessary area clearance or investigation of findings is coordinated with a defined treatment objective and the responsible parties. Clearance work actually carried out receives a clearance log showing the areas treated. A necessary recovery task is considered separately. The project file links these newly provided specialist services to the preliminary work used and the associated location drawings.

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 links available images and other records to today’s ground intervention plan. For utility construction, temporal coverage, old boundaries of use and recognisable changes along the route are checked. Where historical questions remain open, the necessary research and aerial photograph assessments are actually carried out. The result identifies sources, areas considered and remaining gaps. A historical assessment is distinct from the technical investigation of today’s ground. The volume considered is assigned as clearly for a deeper chamber as for the adjoining trench.

Understand aerial photograph assessment

Magnetometric survey

Magnetometry passively detects anomalies with a magnetic effect; electrical conductivity alone does not make an object detectable by magnetometry. In a utility section, existing utilities, fences, reinforcement and other metal structures may interfere with measurements. Specialist planning assesses whether the information required can be obtained under these conditions. The assessment plan locates measurement data and relevant areas of interference. A strong signal does not by itself identify explosive ordnance. For a chamber outside the surveyed corridor, additional investigation needs must still be checked separately.

Understand the scope of magnetometry

Electromagnetic methods

Time-domain electromagnetic methods, or TDEM, investigate the electromagnetic response of conductive objects over time. Suitability depends on target objects, the volume of ground required and actual measurement conditions. A utility route may link open ground and congested connection areas. Assessment takes these differences and existing metal structures into account. Results and limitations are documented by section. Whether a supplementary method is required follows from the specialist question still outstanding. A common construction commission does not establish a single method for trenches, chambers and excavations.

Understand electromagnetic surveying

Ground-penetrating radar

Under suitable conditions, ground-penetrating radar can show structures and reflections in the subsurface. Ground composition, moisture and structures in the ground affect interpretability. For a utility project, the information achievable is compared with the respective depths and existing findings. A reflection is not automatically an explosive ordnance item. Even a display without apparent anomalies remains tied to the area actually investigated. The specialist interpretation of the radar image and its limitations are documented together. Results from utility detection or ground investigations are checked against their own commission before being used to address an ordnance question.

GPR and limitations

Deep-ground and downhole surveys

For deeper chambers, connection pits or foundations, the volume of ground required is described separately from the rest of the route section. If investigation from the surface cannot provide the information needed, a suitable approach, potentially including deep-ground or borehole surveys, is agreed. Starting points, depth, reference level and existing utilities form part of the commission. Investigation access must also be prepared in a technically suitable manner. The technical documentation or borehole clearance remains assigned to the volume actually investigated. Shifted points or greater depths are compared with the existing result before execution.

Prepare deep interventions

Survey during construction

An ordnance investigation during construction may be justified on technical grounds if the necessary advance investigation cannot be completed in full. Planning links any necessary excavation in layers, specialist exposure and supplementary surveys with the relevant work section. Visual observation of ordinary excavation alone is not sufficient as detection. Assessment and communication of findings form part of the agreed sequence. Site management receives the necessary prerequisites for the next ground intervention. Volumes treated, limitations and outstanding tasks are documented and handed over in full to subsequent contractors; where an item is found, the reporting procedures to the responsible authorities apply.

Agree the approach during construction
Technical assessment

Compare existing reports with the planned ground works

Historical indications and current construction plan

Historical findings and existing investigations are first assigned to the current ground intervention areas. For a project in Erbach, Einöd, Jägersburg, Beeden or another Homburg district, the specific version of the plans matters. The district’s name alone says nothing about possible ordnance contamination or the investigation method required.

What investigation depth is needed?

The suitability of a surface survey depends, among other things, on the investigation objective and local conditions. For deeper foundations or other deeper interventions, an additional deep or borehole survey may be required. The investigation depth must therefore be established for each project.

Clarify outstanding areas before construction continues

If an area cannot yet be fully investigated, it remains documented with its limitation. Designers and the specialist contractor coordinate further investigation and, where applicable, clearance. Simply observing ongoing excavation does not replace a necessary ordnance survey during construction.

Next steps

Prepare records for the next construction section

01

Construction sections on the site plan

Record trenches, chambers, excavations and ancillary works with location and depth. The initial discussion identifies the project location and information needed. Existing plans, statements and reports are checked for currency, spatial reference, completeness and gaps.

02

Address outstanding historical questions

Where historical questions remain open, necessary research and aerial photograph assessments are actually carried out within the commission agreed by specialists. Existing assessments are considered with their respective subareas and conclusions. Additional findings are assigned to the present area of ground disturbance and used in investigation planning.

03

Existing investigations

Relate existing plans and reports to the ground intervention actually due next. The suitable method is selected using the investigation objective, depth of ground intervention, ground composition, existing structures and actual measurement conditions. Access and necessary prerequisites are clarified with the responsible parties.

04

Access and contacts

Clarify investigation, access and handover with site management, designers and affected operators.

05

Perform the agreed investigation

The agreed survey or appropriate investigation during construction is carried out on the defined areas and points. Measurement data and observations receive clear position and elevation references. Uninvestigated areas, restricted access and relevant interference are recorded.

06

Assess and document findings

The collected data and findings are assessed against the investigation objective and actual measurement conditions. The assessment takes account of interference and limitations. The report and plan appendices document the technical assessment, areas addressed and their position, elevation and depth references. Required further tasks follow from this.

07

Compare plan changes and hand over results

Compare a changed route or depth with the investigation status again before execution.

The project owner, designers and site management receive the complete report with drawings, areas treated and outstanding tasks for the next ground work. The handover links investigation status with the relevant version of the plans and changed individual structures.

Documentation

Document results and observe responsibilities

Findings and their scope

Specialist documentation describes the areas investigated, methods, results and limits of interpretation. It must be possible to assign it to the relevant construction section. Uninvestigated areas and remaining limitations must remain identifiable at handover too. Even for a later repair or extension, this spatial assignment remains more important than a general statement about the entire site.

Project responsibilities

In Saarland, hazard response to an ammunition find is the responsibility of the competent police authorities, involving the ordnance disposal service. FONTANA-EOD investigates and documents the commissioned areas; decisions by authorities remain reserved to the competent bodies. Whether additional coordination or investigations are required depends on the particular project and its available findings.

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

Be able to locate individual structures in the report

Use the same unambiguous identifiers for chambers and pits in planning, investigation and handover. The associated maps and depth information remain available. If a structure is renamed, establish the connection to the earlier report. This allows site management to identify whether the work actually planned is covered by the documented result and which limitations must be observed.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

Prepare later repairs using the records

Keep the complete documentation with the as-built version of the plans. A later repair may affect different areas or depths from the original construction. Existing statements are therefore related to the new ground intervention. The mere fact that a utility was previously built or investigated does not replace this spatial and technical comparison.

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 utility and construction works in Homburg

Can an existing route investigation be sufficient for a new chamber?

This must be checked against the earlier report and the planned chamber depth. What matters is whether the documented area and investigation depth cover the new ground intervention. Being within an earlier project area is not sufficient on its own.

What should be done if a utility route changes at short notice?

Notify the designers and responsible specialist contractor of the changed route before ground works begin. It must be checked whether the new position is still covered by the existing investigation report or further investigations are needed. Progress already made on site does not answer this question.

Are a ground investigation and an explosive ordnance assessment the same thing?

No. Ground engineering, soil contamination and explosive ordnance have different investigation objectives. The specialist inputs can complement one another but do not replace one another. In particular, a new exploratory borehole is itself a ground intervention that must be included in preparation.

Does the planning for Homburg also apply to Kirkel or Zweibrücken?

An investigation statement remains tied to the specific project described. A project in Kirkel or Zweibrücken therefore takes account of the areas, existing findings and responsible authorities there. Zweibrücken is outside Saarland; applicable requirements must be clarified for the particular location.

How should those involved respond to a suspicious object?

Stop the affected work. Do not touch, move or relocate the suspicious object, and do not uncover it further. Leave the danger area, keep others away and call the police on 110 from a safe distance. Do not take the object to a police station. Follow the competent authorities' instructions.

How can a renamed chamber still be located in the investigation report?

Link the new name to the previous identifier in the report and plan. The associated maps and depth information must remain available. Site management can then assign the structure actually planned to the documented result and take its limitations into account.

How do metal structures affect method selection?

Known utilities, metal structures and other sources of interference are described before the investigation is specified. Specialist planning assesses the information achievable for each trench, chamber and excavation using the required depth and local conditions. A common construction commission does not establish a single method for all areas.

Which cost factors matter for a utility construction project?

The work required depends on existing findings, route length, individual deep points, accessible areas, interference, necessary preliminary works and suitable methods. Assessment, documentation and handovers by section are also included. Usable earlier results are taken into account. Private construction preparation and the response to a find are considered separately with their respective responsibilities for costs.

Project enquiry

Enquire about a utility or construction project in Homburg

Show the route and structures

Show trenches, chambers and preparatory ground investigations with their depths.

Add unambiguous structure numbers, the current reference level and programme. Mark the first ground intervention, including early site investigations, launch and reception pits or other auxiliary works. Utility information and known operational restrictions form part of the enquiry. Open options remain explicitly identified so that they can be considered when defining the commission.

Assign sections

Link plan versions, access and existing reports to the respective works.

Assign complete drawings, legends and the execution status at the time to the reports. Identify the party that consolidates later changes and answers questions. If a structure has been renamed, establish the link to the previous identifier. For later repairs, the as-built plans and investigation boundaries at the time remain available together in the project file. Assign the project to Saarland or the other federal state concerned.

GPR on a construction site
Project enquiry

Have your project assessed

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

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

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