The objective of this paper is to assist the uptake of unsaturated soil mechanics in strength and stability problems in engineering practice. It gives examples of research outcomes related to slope and shallow foundation stability determinations and shows how they can be applied routinely in hand calculations and commercial software using the equivalent method. The equivalent method involves capturing suction influences through an equivalent cohesion and an equivalent unit weight and then doing a total stress analysis. It also outlines industry changes and trends, including good practices and commonly made mistakes, relevant to way unsaturated soils are accounted for and the way suction is measured and implemented into a geotechnical model.