Abstract
Excavated slopes become safe only when they are either excavated to a safe slope angle or when protective measures are taken. During slope cutting work, slopes are at greater risk of failure. In many cases, slope failure suddenly occurs without any warning signs and the workers do not have time to escape and hence accidents take place. To prevent such accidents, the mechanism of slope failure caused by slope cutting work should be clarified. In this study, field tests of slope excavation were carried out. As a result, it was found that in all cases spalling or local failure of the excavated slope was observed before the slope failed completely. This mechanism is consistent with some accidents due to slope failure during slope cutting work. Because the horizontal and vertical movements could be measured during the field test, it is possible to predict the movement of the slope just before failure.
