Person working on plans at a table with maps, folders and an open book; a construction site is visible in the background.

DGUV 113-003, BGR 114 and explosive ordnance clearance

Older documents refer to BGR 114, others to DGUV Rule 113-003 or DGUV Information 201-027. For an explosive ordnance measure, the respective publication, its scope and current publisher notes are related to the activity actually proposed. FONTANA-EOD helps you define a technical task from existing project documents. Employers connect this basis with assessment of their employees' working conditions.

Identify the numbers

Look up former designations correctly.

Define the activity

Select the relevant publication.

Occupational safety

Align with actual conditions.

Read the explanation

Briefly explained

Understand DGUV 113-003 and 201-027 by their scope

DGUV continues to list Rule 113-003 as a rule on dismantling or destroying explosives. Its publication record lists the former numbers BGR 114 and ZH 1/47 and the January 1996 edition. DGUV Information 201-027, by contrast, is the guidance on risk assessment and definition of protective measures during explosive ordnance clearance; its former number is BGI 833.

Connect technical terms with the respective task

Assigning a DGUV publication depends on the activity being prepared. Terms in a report or bill of quantities help when their spatial and technical context is clear.

The March 2020 edition of Information 201-027 adopted provisions from Appendix 5 of Rule 113-003 for the clearance activities described there. This establishes neither a simple renumbering nor complete withdrawal of Rule 113-003. Application depends on the activity actually planned.

Suspicion and suspected area

Suspected explosive ordnance indicates a need for specialist clarification. The suspected area describes the associated volume. Both provide a basis for further decisions but do not yet describe all work to be performed. In an enquiry, state which documents give rise to the suspicion and which groundworks are planned in that area.

Consider the suspected hazard and planned use together

Surveying

Surveying is a technical search using a method suitable for the task. The planned investigation volume and measurement conditions belong in the service specification. Occupational safety also requires consideration of the activities undertaken locally for it. A measurement result and assessment of working conditions answer different questions and are documented accordingly.

Distinguish investigation tasks technically

Clearance and recovery

Clearance and recovery are specialist activities whose scope is defined in the commission. A general regulatory reference establishes neither specific execution nor protective measures needed for an individual find. For project preparation, the scope of work, responsible parties and necessary handovers are described traceably.

Understand clearance and recovery

Clearance statements and documentation

A record described as clearance must be read with its investigation volume, method and assessment scope. Documentation records completed measures, results and limits. Work organisation separately maintains its own assessments and arrangements. The investigation report and occupational safety documentation are assigned according to their respective purposes and connected through the activities actually performed.

Read evidence and the limits of its conclusions

EOD and UXO

EOD stands for Explosive Ordnance Disposal. UXO means Unexploded Ordnance: ammunition prepared for use or deployed that has not exploded. In international project documents, these terms are explained in relation to the task actually planned. Investigation, further work and associated responsibilities are each identified specifically.

Understand EOD and UXO in the project context

Public disposal services and official interfaces

KBD is a common German abbreviation for Kampfmittelbeseitigungsdienst, a public explosive ordnance disposal service. The authority involved depends on location and case. Preparation of a private specialist commission and official hazard response are clearly assigned. Existing correspondence must be passed on with its reason, spatial reference and stated requirements.

Distinguish responsible authorities and specialist commissions

BFR KMR and DGUV

BFR KMR stands for Baufachliche Richtlinien Kampfmittelräumung. DGUV stands for Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung, the German Social Accident Insurance. Their respective publications support different specialist tasks within their scope. The project file therefore records the full title, edition and contents actually used together with the specific activity.

Understand guidelines and their technical scope

Excavation supervision

A technically suitable investigation during construction is coordinated with defined construction stages and affected ground volumes. It involves more than merely observing earthworks. Its preparation considers technical work, construction sequence and documentation together. Occupational safety arrangements needed relate to the actual activities and their conditions.

Understand investigation during construction
Applications

Which publication answers which question?

Read title and scope together and assign the publication to the proposed activity. This makes clear which question the publication is intended to clarify and which technical prerequisites must be compiled.

DGUV Rule 113-003

The rule addresses dismantling or destroying explosives or corresponding objects and also mentions disposal of found ordnance. Its subject thus extends beyond preliminary investigation of a construction area. This does not authorise untrained persons to perform such activities themselves. Assignment starts with the activity described in the commission and its technical purpose. A reference from an older working document is passed on with this context. This keeps clear which part of the former task actually matters for the current enquiry.

DGUV Information 201-027

The information publication concerns targeted preventive investigation and clearance of areas affected by conventional ordnance. In particular, it supports contractors' risk assessment and protective measures; clients and planners also find guidance. The precise boundary is explained in Chapter 1. Ordnance containing chemical or biological warfare agents or radioactive components is expressly excluded. For project preparation, the nature of the task considered is determined accordingly; particular situations receive appropriate specialist and official assignment.

Boundary with find handling

Information 201-027 distinguishes preventive work on areas from chance finds and other activities. Its scope ends at handover for destruction. A possible find during construction is therefore no reason to handle it yourself: distance, notification and the actions of the responsible authorities are decisive.

Place within the regulatory framework

Distinguish regulations, rules and information

Occupational safety in Germany connects state requirements with the regulations and rules of statutory accident insurance. The DGUV distinguishes legally binding accident prevention regulations from rules, information and principles. The latter publications help implement occupational safety duties and specify technical requirements. Binding statutory duties and the implementation guidance offered for them are used according to their respective nature.

For project planning, the relevant state regulations, applicable rules and specific activity are brought together. Assign law, responsibilities and occupational safety to the named parties and their work commission. A regulatory reference identifies the technical basis; company permits and personal competency are checked separately for the assigned activity using suitable evidence.

Implementation in the project

Derive specific occupational safety tasks from documents

Task-specific risk assessment connects available evidence with the activity and protective measures required. Employers assess their employees' working conditions and bring together the information needed for this.

Assess working conditions

Section 5 ArbSchG requires assessment of work-related hazards in Germany. Describe the tasks and working areas actually proposed. A general property report may provide background information for this. Equipment used, construction status and interaction between activities are also considered. Describe, for example, whether investigation is to take place on open ground or between operating facilities. Assessment relates to these actual conditions.

Document decisions

Under Section 6 ArbSchG, the necessary documents in Germany must show, among other things, the risk assessment result, measures defined and result of their review. For project coordination, the documents and assumptions supporting the assessment remain traceable. Distinguish a reviewed measure from an arrangement still being planned according to its status. Responsible persons can then identify which basis needs reconsideration after a change.

Instruct employees for their specific tasks

Instruction under Section 12 ArbSchG must be aligned with the workplace and tasks in Germany. It must be adapted to changing hazards. Employees need understandable explanations of their actual tasks, limits and reporting routes. Rules may provide technical guidance. Specific instruction relates to equipment used, activities undertaken and proposed working area; changes are considered before the activity concerned begins.

Check the edition

Publisher notes form part of the working basis

On the publication page for Information 201-027, DGUV identifies an important change: the booklet still refers to an older version of the Construction Work accident prevention regulation. For these references, the version applicable at BG BAU since 1 April 2020 – the revised DGUV Regulation 38 – should be used. An older passage must therefore not be adopted in isolation as an unchanged current requirement.

Record the publication, edition and update notes considered in the working documents. Before a new application, check the publisher's offering rather than relying solely on a saved filename. For an adopted passage, note whether a current publisher note changes its reference. Another party can then trace the basis used and compare it with the proposed activity. An older task description remains identifiable as the status at that time, while current application is prepared using the relevant requirements. If a possible explosive ordnance find already exists, immediate action after a find takes priority over researching regulatory numbers.

Turn an unclear regulatory reference into a defined task

A short number in a bill of quantities may leave several questions unresolved. Specialist coordination starts with these specific gaps.

Only a former number is given

Identify the full title and associated edition. Record which activity the reference is intended to concern. This distinguishes whether an old number has merely been retained as a designation or the technical task description is also incomplete. Clarification is recorded traceably in the project file. If only an extract from an old bill of quantities exists, the associated item and service described in it form part of the query. The answer is assigned to the same item.

Several activities are grouped together

Document review, technical investigation and further work may follow one another within a commission. Describe their transitions and the result expected from each. A shared heading is insufficient where different responsibilities or prerequisites are involved. The parties can then agree the regulatory reference for their specific task. Where several companies perform work, preparation also includes mutual information about hazards and coordination of necessary protective measures. Spatial and temporal overlaps must be identifiable from the proposed sequence for this purpose.

Construction execution differs from the design

New intervention depths, changed access or additional technical facilities may alter working conditions. Pass on the change with plan version and spatial reference. Technical and organisational assessment must relate to current conditions. Earlier arrangements remain as the documented starting point. Describe which former assumption has changed and which activity is now proposed. Responsible persons can specifically examine effects on methods, protective measures and documents needed.

Read regulatory references so that the project question remains clear

A publication number is a starting point. For specific preparation, task, scope and documents must fit together.

Keep title, edition and passage together

Assign the full title and edition used to a regulatory number. If a particular statement matters for the project, the relevant section also remains retrievable. Planners and contractors can then discuss the same basis. For a reference to Appendix 5 of Rule 113-003, also identify the activity discussed there. Its relationship to Information 201-027 is established from that publication's own scope and the incorporation described in it.

Describe the affected ground volume and activity

A site plan shows the area but does not yet describe every activity proposed there. Add depth, access, existing structures and the planned sequence. Existing utilities, ground composition and interfering objects may affect both technical investigation and work organisation. This information provides a shared basis for further specialist coordination. Planners identify working areas including ancillary areas needed. Contractors can align proposed equipment and conditions for their own personnel with this. Unknown conditions are identified as specific information needed and clarified by specialists before the relevant work.

Distinguish evidence limits from organisational arrangements

Measurement limits and uninvestigated areas belong in the result record. Responsible contacts, information routes and task-specific arrangements belong to work organisation. Both are connected through the actual working area. An unresolved technical question receives a defined further clarification step. Record whether a missing assessment arises from an investigation not yet performed, a measurement limit or changed construction design. These differences affect preparation of the next commission and documents to be handed over.

Define the specialist commission before selecting the method

Method selection describes the assessment needed and actual working conditions. The DGUV publication reference is connected with this task. Technical suitability and assessment of activities are aligned with the same proposed intervention.

Workstation with two screens showing aerial photographs and maps, and printed documents on the desk.

Clarify the historical starting point

If the basis for suspicion is not yet traceably available, existing official information and historical documents are checked for their relationship to the proposed intervention volume, status and identifiable gaps. Any historical research or aerial photograph assessment needed is undertaken with a specific question. Its result is assigned to the current construction site and used for further investigation planning. The historical assessment and later technical field investigation remain documented distinctly.

Person beside a survey instrument on a construction site; a wheeled excavator with drilling equipment stands behind them.

Describe individual deep points

To relate the DGUV publication to the task, borehole points or piles are described with location, intended depth, relevant elevation reference, accessibility and known obstacles. Technical investigation and assessment of activities thus receive the same basis. Relocated points are handed over with identification and a current plan so that investigation and result retain their spatial assignment.

Two people with a tablet beside a marked construction area; plans lie in the foreground.

Consider differing survey conditions

A general regulatory reference does not yet determine the suitable method. Where infrastructure or several construction stages exist, identify areas already accessible and those accessible only later. Prerequisites and the evidence needed are recorded for each stage. Changes in accessibility inform planning before investigation; the result remains assigned to the respective construction stage.

Prepare occupational safety questions for the construction setting

Construction form, existing structures and sequence affect the information needed for specialist coordination.

Montage showing building construction, a railway, a utility trench, energy facilities, industry and road construction.

Open construction site with several interventions

Show excavations, foundations, utility works and ancillary areas together. Different geometries may give rise to different investigation tasks. Spatial assignment makes it easier to hand evidence to site management and describe working conditions for each activity traceably. Identify planned construction stages and areas where other companies are to work. Responsible persons can use this basis to coordinate interaction between activities and necessary information routes. Investigation volumes and working areas needed for them are clearly distinguished on the plan.

Understand investigation tasks at the construction site
Montage showing building construction, a railway, a utility trench, energy facilities, industry and road construction.

Existing infrastructure and alterations

For existing facilities, access, utility occupancy and planned demolition steps matter. Identify the stages at which investigations are to take place. Areas accessible later remain identifiable as separate tasks. Specialist planning is coordinated with operational organisation requirements. Show which facilities will remain in use during the proposed investigation and which access routes are actually available. The responsible company considers these conditions when preparing its activities and agrees necessary changes with the designated parties. Known operational requirements are assigned to the affected working areas.

Describe existing conditions for specialist planning
Montage showing building construction, a railway, a utility trench, energy facilities, industry and road construction.

Route with changing construction sections

A long route may encompass different ground and infrastructure conditions. Structure the enquiry by traceable sections and proposed interventions. Responsibilities and document handovers must remain understandable at section boundaries. This supports consistent documentation despite different local conditions. Assign a crossing, connection or chamber to be constructed later to the relevant section. The specialist enquiry describes the activity proposed there and associated plan version. Investigation scope thus remains unambiguous even at transitions between individual procurement or construction sections.

Assign route sections and working conditions

Incorporate specialist clarification into the project process

Regulatory assignment and technical task are connected early so that parties continue working on the same basis.

01

Identify the activity and unresolved question

Describe the work being prepared and which regulatory reference is unclear. Location and project phase give the question a specific context. Submit this information and existing documents for initial contact with FONTANA-EOD.

02

Check existing documents

Reports, plans and relevant task descriptions are checked for status, spatial correspondence and technical conclusions. Missing appendices and contradictory versions are identified clearly. Necessary additions are referred back to the responsible parties with the specific question.

03

Assess historical information

Existing historical evidence is assigned to the intervention volume. Where evidence is missing, necessary historical research or aerial photograph assessment is undertaken with a defined question. Results inform investigation planning with their spatial reference.

04

Agree a suitable specialist service

The specialist service is selected on the basis of investigation objective, existing structures, intervention and measurement conditions. Surveying or suitable specialist supervision during construction receives a defined scope and traceable result objective. The proposed activities also provide the reference for work organisation.

05

Actually carry out the investigation

The agreed specialist service is performed in the proposed working area. Measurement data or specialist observations during supervision are recorded with their actual location and depth references. Accessibility, interference and untreated areas are recorded so that subsequent assessment can identify the investigation performed unambiguously.

06

Assess results and limits

Collected data and findings are interpreted by specialists with regard to the investigation objective and actual measurement conditions. Interference, uninvestigated areas and assessment limits are considered. Outstanding tasks and any further investigations required receive a defined spatial reference.

07

Bring the report and plan appendices together

The report and associated plan appendices document completed work, specialist assessment and its limits. Commission, method used and volume actually covered remain traceable together. Occupational safety documents are maintained according to their own purpose and connected with the working area considered for handover.

08

Hand over documents for the next phase

Report, plan version and organisational arrangements are handed to the designated parties. Site management and the respective responsible companies compare the evidence with the next planned activities. Changes and remaining tasks are identified specifically for subsequent specialist coordination. On this basis, the responsible project parties define which specialist clarification or next construction task is to be prepared.

Align the next coordination step with the actual question

A different specialist task may take priority depending on the document status.

The service specification is being prepared

Connect the proposed ground volume with the results needed. Necessary documents and handovers should be described so that quotations address the same task. In the specification, required records are assigned to the respective work section and results needed for it. Describe which investigation already exists and which additional assessment is to be commissioned.

Describe the task and records for tendering

An existing report is to be handed over

Assign results and limitations to the next groundworks. Identify the assessment site management needs and which additional documents are missing for this interpretation.

Connect documentation with the subsequent decision

Organise the project file by assessment and purpose

An organised set of documents shows which question has already been answered and which coordination is still needed.

Initial data and task description

Site plan, plot or route section are connected with the proposed activities. Historical documents and existing official information remain available with their appendices. The task description identifies the evidence needed and proposed working volumes. Changes receive a traceable version status. Connect an adopted requirement with the document it comes from. For a later query, the original arrangement can be distinguished from a design changed in the meantime. Complete appendices make it easier to relate an assessment to the area and activity actually considered.

Investigation results and scope of work

Measurement data, survey results and assessments of findings are assigned to the volume actually investigated. Where clearance work has been performed, the report and clearance record are included. Technical limitations and unresolved areas remain visible. A planned measure is distinguished from a completed, documented activity. The technical record receives an unambiguous assignment to the commission, method and construction stage treated. Subsequent parties can check whether the assessment covers the intervention now proposed or needs additional clarification. Where clearance work has actually been performed, the clearance record documents the areas and depths treated, clearance scope performed and result.

Coordination and subsequent decision

Record which documents are needed for the next decision and to whom they are handed over. Occupational safety arrangements retain their task reference. Further technical clarification receives a specific reason. Site management can thus carry the existing evidence into the next construction phase. Employers check compliance with and effectiveness of their protective measures and adjust them where necessary. The result record and review records are maintained according to their respective purposes and brought together through the specific working area.

Clarify the specialist question with suitable documents

What assessment is needed for the next project step? Send the available documents with a site plan, activity description and relevant regulatory reference. FONTANA-EOD agrees with you which records are needed for specialist assessment. Documentation and assessment limits remain connected with the specific ground volume.

Discuss the regulatory question and records

What makes a regulatory assignment traceable

Sound coordination connects the technical basis with the specific project.

Full designation

Title, number and edition of a publication remain traceable together.

Defined activity

The proposed activity is described more precisely than by a general project heading.

Spatial reference

Area, depth and construction status are assigned to the existing documents.

Clarified tasks

Specialist work, organisational responsibility and handovers are identified.

Identifiable limits

Unresolved investigation volumes and unanswered questions remain documented.

Current status

Design changes and new evidence are included in coordination.

Connect the project location and responsible parties

The regulatory question is connected with local conditions and existing official documents.

Illustration of a map of Germany marking Wesseling and Gersheim in front of a construction area, with construction plans and a hard hat beside it.

Assign local requirements

State the project location and include existing correspondence or official information. Stated requirements are read in the context of their specific case. Procedures from another region are not transferred without review. The enquiry also needs to identify contacts already involved. For a new site, its own procedure is clarified with local requirements. Correspondence concerning another area remains documented as that area's case. The current project address and municipality establish the reference for further coordination with the respective responsible authorities.

Assign the project region and existing official information
Illustration of a map of Germany marking Wesseling and Gersheim in front of a construction area, with construction plans and a hard hat beside it.

Consider several sites separately

For several construction sites, documents, tasks and work status are maintained by site. Shared requirements may be grouped while local differences remain visible. Technical and organisational coordination thus retains its relationship to the respective proposed work. For each site, state the activity considered, current plan and authorities already involved. Changes at one construction site are assigned to that site and coordinated with the parties affected.

Structure site-specific tasks traceably

Connect documents, specialist task and result

Connect historical information, the planned specialist service and result record needed with the next project decision.

Workstation with two screens showing aerial photographs and maps, and printed documents on the desk.

Historical information for planning

Historical documents support assessment of a suspected hazard. Their conclusions are connected with the proposed area and intervention. This basis and later technical work remain distinguishable in the project file. State whether the assessment handed over concerns the current area boundaries or an earlier design. Evidence is adopted with its actual spatial reference. Any addition required receives a defined question so that a traceable further investigation task can be derived from the historical information.

Include historical evidence in the task
Two people with a tablet beside a marked construction area; plans lie in the foreground.

Activity and specialist service

Different interventions and existing conditions need technically justified service selection. Describing the proposed activity also provides the reference for further work organisation. Unresolved alternatives are identified before commissioning. In an enquiry, record which technical assessment is needed before the next work begins. Describe accessible areas and known limitations. Specialist coordination can then determine the appropriate service and proposed result scope for this construction stage.

Determine the technical task and appropriate service
Two people discussing plans at a table beside a vehicle on a construction site.

Results for further coordination

Understandable documentation connects the commission, actual work and result. It records assessment limits and unresolved follow-up questions. Further parties can thus identify the evidence underlying the next project decision. Report and plan appendices are passed on together. For work in sections, the relationship between the investigation area and next construction section is checked. Unresolved areas are handed over with the further clarification proposed for them so that site management can consider the actual evidence when preparing subsequent work.

Document findings and their limitations
MALÅ ground-penetrating radar with operators on grass during a FONTANA-EOD project
Person in an orange vest on a construction site with ground markings and small piles of soil
Questions and answers

Frequently asked questions

Is BGR 114 the former number of DGUV Rule 113-003?

Yes. The official publication record lists BGR 114 and ZH 1/47 as former numbers. For a specific application, also check the title, edition and relevant scope.

How are DGUV Rule 113-003 and Information 201-027 related?

Within its own scope, Information 201-027 incorporates certain provisions from Appendix 5 of Rule 113-003. It describes targeted preventive investigation and clearance of areas affected by conventional ordnance. DGUV continues to list Rule 113-003 as a separate publication. Application relates the proposed activity to the respective scope.

Which former number belongs to Information 201-027?

DGUV lists BGI 833. The March 2020 edition replaces the older October 2007 version of this information publication. This version history is distinct from the former designation BGR 114 for DGUV Rule 113-003. Record number, title and edition together.

Which information affects the effort and cost of specialist clarification?

The specific activity, quality and completeness of existing documents, spatial scope and assessment needed are decisive. Accessibility, measurement conditions and any additional investigation required also matter. State whether the initial task is to understand a regulatory reference or plan a particular specialist service. The scope needed can be agreed specifically on this basis.

Why must the note on DGUV Regulation 38 also be read?

Information 201-027 contains references to the 1997 version of the Construction Work accident prevention regulation. For these passages, DGUV refers to the version applicable at BG BAU since 1 April 2020, the revised DGUV Regulation 38. Consider the publisher's note at the relevant passage and check requirements for the specific proposed activity. Publication, edition and the note considered remain traceable in working documents.

What helps explain an old regulatory reference?

State the full title, number, edition and context within the commission. Add the specific proposed activity, project location and document status. This distinguishes the specialist question from simply comparing numbers.

How is the appropriate investigation service selected?

The appropriate specialist service is selected on the basis of the task, intervention and actual conditions. Investigation objective, area and depth reference, accessibility and measurement conditions provide the basis. The regulatory reference is connected with this task; necessary investigations and organisational arrangements are agreed specifically. Coordinate needs before planned groundworks. Document review and any historical research required are followed by method selection, investigation or suitable supervision and assessment. Measurement limits and areas with restricted interpretability remain identifiable in the report and results plan. For the next groundworks, results are compared with the intervention; official requirements and decisions are clarified with the responsible authorities at the project location.

What should I do if I find a possible item of ordnance?

Stop work in the affected area immediately, keep your distance and notify the police immediately on 110. Do not touch, move, uncover or investigate the object yourself. The responsible authorities determine further action. A project enquiry or clarification of a regulatory number is handled separately.

Prepare a specific regulatory question for coordination

FONTANA-EOD can assess the specialist task with you on the basis of traceable project information.

Location, area and proposed activity

Provide the address, plot or route section and a site plan. Describe intervention depth, construction status and the activity actually being prepared. Identify temporary excavations, anchors and access routes insofar as ground interventions are proposed there. The information distinguishes the permanent structure from working volumes needed during execution. Known geometry changes are described with the current proposed situation.

Documents and publication used

Submit existing reports, official information and the relevant task description. Title, number, edition and passage help assign the question. Include all associated appendices and mark the area considered. If the question concerns only part of the service, identify the relevant item or activity. The regulatory reference can then be read together with the task actually being prepared.

Decision and parties

State the upcoming decision, timeframe and existing contacts. Communicate known measurement limits, access problems and outstanding documents. For a design change, submit the new version with a description of changed activities, depths or access. Existing results and arrangements are compared with it. Outstanding questions and necessary further steps remain traceable in the project file.

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.