Abstract
The main purpose of this paper is to highlight that: (a) key reliability-based design (RBD) components are already in place and it is practical to achieve close integration with structural RBD without sweeping aside important geotechnical considerations such as soil variabilities and (b) our profession also would benefit from this approach because the geotechnical engineer can devote more attention to ground and construction evaluation, without having to agonize over use of the "right" design equation, how to select the elusive factor of safety in a rational and defensible manner, or how much conservatism should be applied to design parameters with highly variable uncertainties that are site-dependent. Details are given in references.