Why Standardization Pays Off More Than New Features
Speed in structural design rarely comes from working faster — it comes from removing repeat decisions. Firms that standardize their analysis workflows spend less time rebuilding the same assumptions and more time engineering.
Year-end is an ideal time to do this work. Without active deadlines, teams can step back and define how they want projects to start in the new year rather than reacting project by project.
RISA Templates: Start Every Model 80% Complete
RISA-3D templates are one of the simplest ways to reduce setup time across all projects. Firms often standardize:
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Typical material definitions and member shapes
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Default load combinations aligned with current codes
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Common diaphragm assumptions
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Frequently used analysis settings
When templates are dialed in, engineers stop reinventing the same model structure and can focus immediately on project-specific behavior.
For example if your firm uses custom load combinations repeatedily across several projects, then create a firm's custom load combinations template and add them to your default RISA-3D load combinations. See the example video below.
Typical Details and Load Rules Reduce Rework
Standardizing typical framing conditions and load rules is where operational efficiency really compounds. When gravity loads, lateral load paths, and diaphragm behavior are defined consistently, downstream changes become easier to manage.
This approach also improves internal quality control. When everyone starts from the same assumptions, reviews focus on engineering decisions — not on whether the model was set up correctly.
For operations-minded principals, this kind of standardization isn’t about software — it’s about predictability, scalability, and fewer surprises in 2026.
A Familiar Year-End Scenario for Many RISA Users
Picture a two-engineer firm wrapping up December with most major submittals out the door. There’s a short gap before January projects ramp back up, and for once, no one is modeling under permit pressure.
One engineer opens a recently completed RISA-3D model — not to redesign it, but to clean it up. They standardize load rules, rebuild a typical bay with clearer member naming, and save a few common framing layouts as templates. Another engineer runs through the same model and realizes how much time during the year went into rechecking spreadsheets and adjusting assumptions that could have lived directly in the model.
Nothing changes overnight. But when the first January project starts, the model setup takes hours instead of days, coordination questions are easier to answer, and the team feels more confident saying yes to a slightly more complex job. That’s the quiet payoff of using year-end to rethink tools — not a dramatic switch, just fewer friction points carried into the new year.