No abstract

Role of human uncertainties is not unusual. Most of the landslides emerge on manmade slopes and this is in essence the upshot of uncertainties related to human factors/human errors. These "human factors" are thorny to weigh up during the design process but can cause pressure on structural integrity/safety. In this study author has tried to pinpoint two most disastrous landslides of Malaysian region which has been occurred in different decades, without any geological or morphological reason. This study also exposes those sources/causal factors due to which slope failures are frequent. In the end the author is proposing the causal factor control plan (due to which landslides are numbering day by day). In actual this study conceded out that reliability theory can be used as a logical substitute and found it much more consistent as compared to traditional practices.

Landslide is one of the most prominent geo-hazard that accounts for colossal losses every year. The contributing factors of landslides in Malaysia are reasonably different from rest of the world. According to a study, the most dominant factor that catalysis the slope failure in many countries of the world is geological conditions. However, in case of Malaysia; most of the landslides occur as a consequence of flawed design, improper construction and non-maintenance of slopes which correlates with the human errors. The statistics of Malaysia shows that highest number of landslides took place in 1996 with 71 cases which is followed by 68 cases in 1995. According to the findings of Highland Towers (1993) landslide, the main causes of failure were inaccuracies in design, poor supervision during the construction and inadequate drainage system. Similarly, in case of Taman Hillview and Bukit Antarabangsa landslide, it has been revealed that improper design practices and poor drainage system supplemented with prolonged rain were the significant causes of the cataclysm. Therefore, based on the investigations on retrospective landslides, this study proposes to incorporate Human Reliability Assessment technique as a part of working strategy for slopes along with strong adherence to the design guidelines in order to minimize the likelihood of landslides.

Slope engineering is primarily focused on landslides nowadays due to increasing number of its episodes. Most of the landslides occur on manmade slopes and it is actually the consequence of the uncertainties carried by different contributing factors. This study explores the causes of Highland Towers 1993 landslide based on reliability analysis technique and taking into account the role of human errors in the contribution of landslide. It is an established fact that the probability of failure derived from structural reliability analysis is conditional which does not incorporate human factors. The analysis considered in this study is based on Monte Carlo simulation by using the commercial slope/w software to evaluate the stability of the slope. The reason for selecting this software is that it combines both deterministic and probabilistic modules which provides more reliable results. These investigations are followed by fault tree analysis (FTA) to quantify the human error causes of failure by determining the chances of landslide governing with different events. The results of FTA show that the potential causes of this landslide are inadequate drainage, failure of rubble wall, and rail pile foundation which confirms that human errors have played a significant role in triggering the landslide. Therefore, this study suggests the use of human reliability analysis technique along with structural analysis to address the risks associated with the slopes.

human errors which occur either as a result of negligence or as a result of several types of uncertainties. In this context, this study suggests a theoretical framework to address human errors and to mitigate the chances of slope failure.