Experience | Safety | Progress
Specialist UXO support fo construction, infrastructure and land reclamation projects.
Practical UXO watching brief support for developers, contractors and groundworks teams, helping you manage unexploded ordnance risk with confidence.
Request a quoteA UXO Watching Brief provides experienced on-site support during excavation, trenching, trial pits, foundation works and other intrusive groundworks where a potential unexploded ordnance risk has been identified.
Our UXO Specialist works directly alongside the site team and plant operators, monitoring exposed ground, excavation faces and arising material as works progress.
Before intrusive works begin, relevant site personnel are briefed on the identified UXO risk, the agreed working procedures and the actions to take should a suspicious item or anomaly be encountered.
Throughout the works, the UXO Specialist maintains continuous visual observation of the excavation from a suitable safe position and provides practical guidance to the site team from a UXO perspective.
The Watching Brief can include:
• UXO site induction and briefing of relevant personnel.
• Monitoring of mechanical and hand excavation.
• Observation of exposed ground, excavation faces and arising spoil.
• Liaison with site managers, supervisors and plant operators.
• Recognition and assessment of suspect items encountered during the works.
• Immediate stop-work advice where a potential UXO item is identified.
• Establishment of appropriate initial safety measures and exclusion arrangements.
• Liaison and escalation in accordance with the agreed emergency response procedure.
• Recording of UXO-related observations and events throughout the works.
Our aim is to provide effective UXO risk mitigation while allowing the construction programme to continue efficiently and with the minimum unnecessary disruption.
A UXO Toolbox Talk provides site personnel with clear, practical information about the unexploded ordnance risk associated with the project and the actions they should take if something unusual is encountered.
The briefing is delivered in straightforward construction-site language and can be tailored to the specific history, risk assessment and planned intrusive works for the site.
The aim is not to turn site personnel into ordnance specialists. It is to ensure that everyone working in or around the excavation understands the potential hazard, recognises when something may require further assessment and knows when to stop work and seek advice.
A typical UXO Toolbox Talk can include:
• An overview of the UXO risk identified for the site.
• The types of military activity historically associated with the area.
• Examples of UXO and suspicious items that may potentially be encountered.
• Common indicators that may warrant further investigation.
• Safe working practices during excavation and intrusive works.
• The importance of not touching, moving or disturbing a suspect item.
• Stop-work and reporting procedures.
• Initial exclusion and communication arrangements.
• Site-specific emergency contact and escalation procedures.
Toolbox Talks can be delivered at the start of a project, before UXO-related works commence, or as refresher briefings when new personnel or subcontractors arrive on site.
Attendance can also be recorded to provide the client with a clear record that relevant personnel have received UXO awareness instruction.
Effective UXO mitigation depends on good communication between the UXO Specialist, site management, plant operators and the wider project team.
Our role is not simply to observe excavation. We work alongside the client throughout the intrusive works to help ensure that the agreed UXO controls are practical, understood and correctly applied on site.
Before works commence, we can review the proposed excavation sequence, working areas, programme and existing UXO information with the client and site management team.
During the works, the UXO Specialist maintains regular communication with supervisors and operators so that changes to the programme, excavation location or working method can be considered from a UXO perspective.
Our client liaison and QA/QC support can include:
• Pre-start discussion with the client and site management.
• Review of relevant UXO risk information and site procedures.
• Coordination with supervisors and plant operators.
• Monitoring that agreed UXO mitigation measures are being followed.
• Identification of changes in working conditions that may affect the UXO risk.
• Advice on UXO-related issues arising during the works.
• Recording of relevant site observations and activities.
• Photographic records where appropriate.
• Daily or periodic UXO activity records where required.
• Recording and reporting of any suspect items or UXO-related incidents.
• Clear communication of any recommended changes or additional precautions.
Where required, documentation can be incorporated into the client's own quality assurance procedures, providing an auditable record of the UXO support undertaken during the project.
The emphasis throughout is on practical cooperation — helping the project team maintain appropriate UXO controls without creating unnecessary delays to the construction programme.
Even where appropriate UXO mitigation measures are in place, construction teams must know exactly what to do if a suspected item of unexploded ordnance is encountered.
A clear Emergency Response Plan removes uncertainty and provides the site team with a simple, predetermined procedure that can be implemented immediately.
The plan is developed around the individual site, the works being undertaken and the level of UXO risk identified.
Emergency response planning can include:
• Clear stop-work procedures.
• Instructions to prevent a suspect item from being touched, moved or disturbed.
• Initial isolation of the affected working area.
• Establishment of an appropriate temporary exclusion area.
• Identification of the personnel responsible for site communication and escalation.
• Notification procedures for the UXO Specialist and client representatives.
• Arrangements for contacting the appropriate emergency or statutory authorities where required.
• Control of plant, personnel and access around the affected area.
• Procedures for recording the location and circumstances of the discovery.
• Communication arrangements for contractors, subcontractors and other site personnel.
• Procedures for recommencing works once the incident has been appropriately resolved.
If a suspected UXO item is encountered while one of our specialists is providing a Watching Brief, the specialist can immediately advise the site team, assist with the initial control of the area and coordinate the appropriate escalation process.
The purpose of the Emergency Response Plan is simple: everyone knows what to do, who to contact and how to respond safely before an incident ever occurs.
NOT SURE WHAT LEVEL OF UXO SUPPORT YOUR PROJECT REQUIRES?
Send us the site location, proposed works and any existing UXO information and we can help you determine the most appropriate level of support.
