New Features in RISACore v23.0.2 Release

RISA is pleased to announce the latest release of RISA-3D, RISAFloor, and RISAFoundation v23.0.2, delivering key enhancements for Canadian projects. This update focuses on keeping your steel and cold‑formed design aligned with the latest Canadian standards while simplifying wind and seismic loading workflows.

The release incorporates the following enhancements and updates:

• Design to CSA S16‑19 for hot‑rolled steel members

• Canadian cold‑formed steel (CFS) wall design per CSA S136‑20 / CSA S240‑20

• NBC 2020 wind, seismic and load combination generation, including parapet wind loads 

CSA S16‑19 for Hot‑Rolled Steel

The new release adds steel design per CSA S16‑19, allowing engineers to design hot‑rolled steel members in accordance with the latest Canadian steel standard. With this update, you can apply CSA S16‑19 across your primary framing systems and stay consistent with current national requirements for steel structures.

By integrating CSA S16‑19 directly into the RISA environment, engineers can reduce manual checks against external references and streamline the design of Canadian building and industrial projects.

Canadian CFS Walls per CSA S136‑20 / CSA S240‑20

Cold‑formed wall design has been expanded to support Canadian codes, enabling CFS wall design per CSA S136‑20 / CSA S240‑20. This gives engineers a native way to design cold‑formed wall systems for Canadian projects, from gravity walls to lateral force‑resisting systems.

Having Canadian CFS wall design built into RISA helps minimize reliance on standalone tools and spreadsheets, making it easier to keep wall, frame and foundation design within a single, integrated workflow.

NBC 2020 Wind, Seismic and Load Combinations

To support modern Canadian building design, this release adds load generation per NBC 2020 Chapter 4.1, including wind, seismic and automatic load combinations. Engineers can now generate NBC 2020‑compliant loading patterns and combinations directly in their models instead of constructing them manually.

The update also incorporates parapet wind load calculations aligned with NBC 2020 guidance, helping ensure parapet effects are captured consistently with the rest of the building’s wind design. Together, these improvements support more reliable environmental loading for Canadian structures

These enhancements are designed to give Canadian engineers a more complete, code‑current solution for steel, cold‑formed walls and environmental loading inside RISA. Check out our Release Notes below.