In simple terms:

I don’t charge clients for building my general expertise, but I do charge for work that is specific to their product. You pay for applying knowledge to your project – and for any project‑specific investigation needed – not for Fairfield Technology’s long‑term R&D.

More detail:

Fairfield Technology operates on a clear and deliberate separation between general technical development and project-specific application.

Modern embedded systems projects often involve unfamiliar components, complex modules, and evolving toolchains. As part of running Fairfield Technology, I invest time in ongoing independent research, experimentation, and evaluation of technologies that are broadly applicable across multiple projects.

This general technical development – understanding devices, datasheets, power behaviour, software interfaces, and integration patterns – is undertaken at my own cost, as part of Fairfield Technology’s long-term capability building.

Where a project requires learning or investigation that is specific to a client’s product, device choice, or architecture – and is unlikely to provide wider long-term value — that work is treated as part of the project and is chargeable.

Clients are charged for the application of knowledge to their specific product, including:

• schematic capture and PCB design
• firmware development
• integration and testing
• documentation and support

This approach benefits both sides:

• Clients benefit from prior hands-on experience where available
• Project-specific work is treated transparently and fairly
• Technical risk is reduced through informed design decisions
• Fairfield Technology continues to build sustainable, reusable expertise

The result is professional engineering work grounded in preparation, clarity, and appropriate allocation of effort.