Practicing hazard mitigation strategies for a construction on a sensitive clay slope

Abstract

Safety level of sensitive clay slopes can rigorously be established a priori for a given preconstruction state under all foreseeable conditions. However, construction activities may alter the in-situ conditions of the slope and possibly lead to a lower safety level or an increased level of hazard beyond an acceptable level. Therefore, it is crucial to have a thorough follow up during construction activities and implement hazard mitigation measures to ensure or maintain an acceptable safety level. This is illustrated in this paper using a real case involving construction of an infrastructure in highly sensitive clay slope in Rissa, Norway. The work emphasizes that as much as establishing factor of safety or probability of failure is important in design stage, one should also equally focus on trying to reassure the analysis/assessment done in design remains valid during and after construction.