A well carried out survey is highly critical for upcoming mine clearance activity. This job is done by the fully trained and deminer staff of the ISOP. The survey typically done by means of RTK DGPS and mine detection equipment while surveyors wearing PPEs.

ISOP's manual deminers provide the backbone of most clearance programmes.Humans are the most versatile of "assets" and are able to demine in virtually all ground conditions. While each individual deminer may only clear 10-50 square metres a day, the work will be very high quality and the overall productivity across mined farmland will be considerable if there is a sufficiently large number of deminers deployed. Many ISOP clearance areas have hundreds of deminers – while it is not unknown to deploy over a thousand deminers (such as along the old Taliban/Northern Alliance front lines south of Bagram airbase in Afghanistan).
Most manual deminers are equipped with electronic detectors which alarm against even the smallest metal components in landmines. However in some areas the background ferrous soil, or depth of mines, makes detection very slow and it is quicker for deminers to simply "sap" their lanes with hand tools down to the required depth. The newest detectors used by ISOP are able to differentiate between metal clutter / detritus, and actual landmines.

Anti-tank mines laid in areas can create acute access problems for aid and trade long after conflicts have passed.
The resultant stranglehold on movement has put pressure on mine clearance operators such as ISOP to find solutions. ISOP has developed Mechanical Threat Reduction (MTR) as a workable and cost effective way to open up access, where the threat is from metal and plastic anti-tank mines laid in relatively low densities. MTR is most simply described as systematic search ata practical speed.
MTR is considered as a solution when the need for access is very high but where deployment of conventional mine clearance assets would be very expensive and thus unlikely to be realized. MTR is not full clearance - It is at best a serious attempt to locate as many anti-tank mines as possible in order to remove them before serious incidents occur. The aim of MTR is to open up emergency access routes; peripheral work on verges will normally be left for a later date.
MTR consists of three components. 1: A vehicle mounted metal locator to detect metal anti-tank mines down to 50cm below the surface. 2: Vehicle towed detonation trailers designed to exert pressure on as much of the surface as is practicably possible. Each trailer is weighted in order to deliberately detonate mines. The "sacrificial" wheels on these trailers are designed to be blown off and then replaced relatively quickly in order for operations to continue. Both the locator and the detonation trailers make several overlapping passes over the surface. 3: Manual deminers to conduct follow-up and work on any "skip areas" not fully covered by both the vehicle mounted locator and the detonation trailers. For example, narrow bridge abutments, metal piping or large/deep pot-holes.

Removing battle field debris is one of the mine action basic operation.

For many years ISOP destroyed Weapons and Ammunition as an everyday aspect of its work, but the specific challenges presented by the enormous quantities of ammunition in Afghanistan post-2001 led ISOP to establish a separate division to work solely in this field. ISOP is now a leading organization in the field of Weapons & Ammunition Disposal (WAD) with current programmes operating in Afghanistan, Angola, Somaliland and Mozambique, and successful projects completed in Cambodia and Georgia.