The shear resistance of the cross section is determined using the equations of Clause 13.4 of the code. Once this is obtained, the ratio of the shear force acting on the cross section to the shear resistance of the section is calculated. If any of the ratios (for both local Y & Z axes) exceed 1.0 or the allowable value provided using the RATIO parameter (see Table 3B.1), the section is considered to have failed under shear. The code also requires that the slenderness ratio of the web be within a certain limit (See Cl.13.4.1.3, page 1-29 of CAN/CSA-S16-01). Checks for safety in shear are performed only if this value is within the allowable limit. Users may by-pass this limitation by specifying a value of 2.0 for the MAIN parameter.