Version 3.0 takes everything from previous software versions and adapts it to the latest standards

This article originally was featured on the MASS Software Blog, formerly hosted on the software section of the Canada Masonry Design Centre website. CMDC is the authorized technical service provider for the MASS Software

National Masonry Design Programs is proud to announce the official release of Masonry Analysis Structural Systems (MASS^TM) Version 3.0.

Major Changes in MASS™ Version 3.0

The major changes are listed below while the full list of changes can be found on the MASS website here as well as in Section 1.6 of the MASS help files.

Design Codes and Standards

As mentioned above, Version 3.0 adapts all masonry design procedures from Version 2.2 to using current design standards. Two papers outlining these changes were published and presented by Dr. Drysdale, Dr. Banting, and David Stubbs at the recent 13^th Canadian Masonry Symposium hosted by the Canada Masonry Design Centre (CMDC) and Dalhousie University. These papers can be found here (Part 1: Non-Seismic Changes) and here (Part 2: Seismic Changes). With the exception of seismic minimum reinforcement requirements, all of the changes within the current scope of MASS are considered non-seismic. The next release of MASS which is already in development will increase this scope to include higher levels of ductility performance, as well as the rest of the newly added CSA S304-14 Chapter 16: Special Provisions for Seismic Design.

New Project File Format

In an effort to reduce confusion around which projects have been designed in accordance with which codes and standards, the project file format “.masonry14” was created which designs exclusively to the current standards. MASS Version 3.0 can still open old projects, however upon opening them, you will be prompted to “Save As” a “.masonry14” project as the design results may be affected. An article explaining the difference and compatibility can be found online here.

Additional Bug Fixes

As software issues are discovered, they are posted on our “Known Bugs” page which is linked from the MASS website homepage and kept up to date. There was one bug recently discovered internally at the CMDC what was also present in Version 2.2 which was re-compiled at MASS Version 2.2.1 and included in the Version 3.0 download. An explanation of the bug can be found here and a Version 2.2.1 explanation can be found here.

How to upgrade

Step 1: Open the Notification email and follow the link to the MASS Upgrades page:

Didn’t receive the email? Check with your admin staff or local IT professional who may be in charge of software licensing for your company. Only MASS website account holders or manually assigned users will have been sent the notification email. In the event that you require access to the download but someone else in your office was sent the email, simply using a forwarded copy with the credentials included is enough to access the download (Note that this does not require the account password or other more sensitive information such as address. We do not save or even have access to payment information)

Step 2: On the MASS upgrades page, select the option to download MASS Version 3.0.

Step 3: Copy and Paste your email address and corresponding serial number and clock “DOWNLOAD” to begin the download:

Note: Even a change of one typed character is the difference between the download working and not being found in the database. Please double check your entries or copy and paste from the email notification which has been pulled form the same database.

Step 4: File will begin downloading:

For most web browsers, the keyboard shortcut CTRL + J can be used to open the list of downloaded files.

Step 5: While the package is downloading, it is highly recommended that all existing versions of MASS be uninstalled prior to installing MASS Version 3.0. For assistance on how to uninstall programs, click here.

Step 6: Once the file has finished downloading, the directory can be extracted and opened to show the following files:

After uninstalling all prior versions of MASS (including Version 2.2), run the “setup.exe” file to install MASS Version 3.0.

There is also a video available on the downloads page outlining the same process for MASS Version 2.0 which is essentially unchanged. For assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the authorized MASS technical support provider, Canada Masonry Design Centre.