To 3 or Not to 3

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Presented by: Ron Hamburger, SE, PE and John Hooper, SE, PE

Designing seismic force-resisting systems per AISC 341 permits the use of large R values (5 to 8), reducing seismic design forces, required frame and foundation strength, and stiffness requirements. However, this comes at a cost. Members must be seismically-compact, driving up steel tonnage; extensive lateral bracing of beams and columns may be required; and, connection designs must meet rigorous criteria that drive up complexity and cost. Where permitted as an alternative, design for R=3, requires design for higher forces, but often results in a more economical solution through avoidance of these AISC 341 requirements. This presentation will examine this trade-off and how the selection of a SFRS affects the total building cost, not just the steel tonnage.

Date:  1/27/2026

Time:  12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Central

Individual Registration

Register one person. Each registrant has access to the course including the live webinar, recording, and quiz for each session, the final exam, and a certificate.

    • $65 Member
    • $100 Non-Member
    • $55 Student/Faculty
    • Government Agency:  Discounts available.  Contact registration@aisc.org.
    • This course is included in LearningPass subscription

Group Registration

Register an unlimited number of people from your company roster. Each registrant has access to the course including the live webinar, recording, and quiz for each session, and a certificate.

    • $185 Member
    • $285 Non-Member
    • Government Agency:  Discounts available.  Contact registration@aisc.org.
    • This course is included in LearningPass subscription

Recording access! Webinar series allow both group and individual registration options access to the live broadcasts and the recordings! Earning PDH credit for viewing a recorded session requires passing a quiz. Access to all recordings and quizzes ends on February 27, 2026. 

Substitution and Cancellations:  Substitutions may be made at any time. Cancellations received 1-3 days prior to the webinar will be charged a $50 service charge. Cancellations and no shows the day of the webinar session will not receive a refund.

Are you already registered as a group and need to add more colleagues? Add to your group registration here.


Speakers


 John Hooper is a Senior Principal and the Director of Earthquake Engineering at Magnusson Klemencic Associates, a consulting structural and civil engineering firm in Seattle, Washington. He received his Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Seattle University and a Master of Science from the University of California at Berkeley. John has over 40 years of engineering experience in the fields of renovation and earthquake engineering and has been involved in the majority of MKA’s Performance-Based Seismic designs over the past 25 years. He is a member of AISC’s COS and serves on AISC’s TC-3 and TC-5. He is Past Chair of the American Society of Civil Engineer (ASCE 7’s) Seismic Subcommittee, a member of ASCE 7’s Main Committee, and Chair of the Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) NEHRP Provisions Update Committee.
 Ron Hamburger, a Consulting Principal with Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc, has more than 50 years of experience in structural design, construction, failure investigation, research, teaching  and codes and standards development.  He was a Director of the SAC Steel Project, is a past chair of the BSSC Provisions Update Committee, past chair of the ASCE 7 Committee, member of the AISC Committee on Specifications and of the Connection Prequalification Review Panel.  He has been active in the development of the seismic provisions of building codes and industry specifications since the 1980s.  
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