Working Paper · The Bench Plan
Status: Speculative working paper — planning record, not a commitment. Figures are planning models, not audited forecasts.
Synthesized: 2026-06-12, from the Hamilton training model, the training financial model, the Clark Courses profile and curriculum map, and the research-deepening track.
Companion to: Field Report 001, "A bench."
1. What this paper is
Field Report 001 proposes one working electronics assembly and training bench as Clark's first physical move. This paper is the operating plan behind that sentence: where the bench lives, what is taught at it, what it costs, what it earns, and how one bench becomes a training operation that a region can lean on. It is published as a working paper in keeping with the protocol's evidence rule — readers should be able to inspect the plan, not just the claim.
2. The facility
The working plan places Clark's first training operation inside a host facility: a designated co-location footprint within Niagara Assembly's Hamilton site at 24 Clark Ave (the street name is a coincidence we have decided to enjoy).
- First-phase footprint: ~4,500 sq ft, split functionally in three: the front two portions led and activated by Clark for training, Clark Courses delivery, demonstration, and mixed teaching-and-testing use; the back third reserved for the host's specialized low-batch testing and flashing hub.
- Upside option: roughly 5,000 additional sq ft on the main level exists at the property; treated strictly as future option value, not launch footprint.
- Why a host facility and not a community venue: live soldering needs ESD control, fume extraction, and insurance. A working manufacturer's floor handles these as a matter of course; a community hall does not. The host pattern also delivers the pedagogical asset no classroom can fake — instruction within metres of real production.
The bench itself — the public-facing teaching cell — is equipped to industry standard for roughly $10–25K: ESD bench, Mantis-class inspection scope (~$4–6K), JBC/Metcal-grade iron and hot-air stations ($1–4K/station), fume extraction, test gear, and a camera-and-display rig so observation is a designed experience, not an accident. Comparators: a 20-station lab runs $100–300K+; recently funded mobile training labs run $0.5–1.2M. The bench is 20–50× cheaper than the institutional alternative.
3. What is taught — the two credential layers
Layer 1: IPC certification (the industry's credential)
The first training bundle centres on the certifications the electronics industry actually checks for, delivered in partnership with the established certification ecosystem (EPTAC partnership pathway):
- IPC-A-610 Certified IPC Specialist (CIS) — acceptability of electronic assemblies
- IPC-A-610 Certified Standards Expert (CSE)
- Hand Soldering Certification
- Hands-on Cable and Wire Harness Lab (EPTAC)
- IPC-A-610 Certified IPC Trainer (CIT) — the train-the-trainer path
Sequencing follows the bench's physics: A-610 (inspection, lecture-based) fits the one-bench theatric format and runs first; J-STD-001 soldering modules follow with small cohorts (4–6), secondary practice irons, and evening rotation blocks, because per-student demonstrated soldering is the binding constraint on one bench. The CIT path targets experienced professionals who want to become trainers — each CIT graduate multiplies regional teaching capacity, which is the actual scarce resource.
Graduates of IPC courses are described plainly as IPC-certified. Clark does not blur or replace the IPC credential.
Layer 2: Clark Courses (the context curriculum)
Around the certifications sits Clark's own 16-course curriculum — not orientation fluff, but a rigorous industry-literacy program from entry to advanced practice. This is the "direct access to education about industrial and resource economies" claim of Field Report 001 made concrete: students learn not just how to make a joint but how the industry that needs the joint actually works.
Level 1 — Foundations (5 courses, no prerequisites):
| Code | Title | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| CC-L1-01 | The Electronics Manufacturing Industry — History, Scale, and Structure | Full day |
| CC-L1-02 | The Printed Circuit Board — Anatomy, Materials, and Fabrication | Full day |
| CC-L1-03 | Components — A Visual and Technical Survey | Full day |
| CC-L1-04 | The Assembly Process — From Bare Board to Finished Product | Full day |
| CC-L1-05 | Quality and Standards — Why IPC Exists and What It Demands | Full day |
Level 2 — Professional Practice (6 courses, for people in active roles):
| Code | Title | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| CC-L2-01 | SMT Assembly in Depth — Equipment, Process Control, Defect Modes | 2 days |
| CC-L2-02 | Through-Hole, Mixed Technology, and Selective Processes | Full day |
| CC-L2-03 | Inspection and Test — AOI, X-ray, ICT, Flying Probe, Functional Test | Full day |
| CC-L2-04 | The Supply Chain and BOM — How Electronics Actually Gets Made | Full day |
| CC-L2-05 | Industry Verticals — Medical, Defense, Automotive, Consumer, Industrial | Full day |
| CC-L2-06 | New Product Introduction — DFM, First Articles, and the Pilot Run | Full day |
Level 3 — Advanced Topics (5 courses, for specialists and future instructors):
| Code | Title | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| CC-L3-01 | Class 3 Workmanship — High-Reliability for Defense and Aerospace | 2 days |
| CC-L3-02 | Advanced Packaging — BGA, CSP, QFN, Flip-Chip, HDI | Full day |
| CC-L3-03 | Regulatory and Compliance — ITAR, Controlled Goods, ISO 13485, AS9100 | Full day |
| CC-L3-04 | Embedded Systems in the Manufacturing Context — Firmware and Provenance | Full day |
| CC-L3-05 | Building and Running a Training Program — the delivery-partner gateway | 2 days |
Totals: 16 courses, 21 instructional days for one full pass. CC-L3-05 is the ladder's top rung made institutional: it is how graduates become licensed delivery partners — the route by which the curriculum propagates to other nodes without Clark teaching every class forever.
Completion of the Clark curriculum carries the Clark Certified designation — a separate, Clark-branded achievement layer, never a substitute for IPC credentials. Verifiable, shareable digital records (Open Badges 3.0 / W3C Verifiable Credentials via an established platform) target end of year 1; blockchain anchoring is treated as an option if it ever solves a real problem, not a day-one requirement.
The recommended pathway
Foundations (CC-L1) → IPC CIS → Professional Practice (CC-L2) as the role develops → Advanced Topics (CC-L3) + Class 3 certification for high-reliability careers → CC-L3-05 for those who will teach. Watch, assist, build, run something, then certify the next cohort — the ladder, with course codes.
4. The business model
Revenue architecture (four commercial modes)
- Per-seat public cohorts — fixed calendar, open enrolment; Foundations priced for individuals, upper levels for employer sponsorship. Public cohorts capped at 16; private at 20 per instructor.
- Private cohort licensing — annual contracts with EMS/OEM clients for a defined number of delivery days, with curriculum customization from the client's own product types and quality history; delivered at their facility or in Hamilton.
- Curriculum licensing — colleges, apprenticeship programs, and workforce organizations license the curriculum with instructor training and update cycles. This is the scale mechanism — and, in the current college contraction, the partnership offer: a college that can no longer afford to run its own electronics program can license one that is already maintained.
- Corporate subscription — annual agreements for employers with continuous onboarding: unlimited Foundations access, allocated Professional Practice seats, discounted Advanced Topics.
Market reference pricing for the certification layer: IPC-A-610 CIS at $700–1,200/student; A-610 + J-STD-001 packages $1,400–2,300; recertification at 60–70%; team/on-site programs from ~$10K.
Host-facility economics (the beta deal)
The co-location model uses a deliberately simple hybrid — fixed fees calibrated to volume plus a revenue share computed after direct instructional costs only (instructor compensation, travel, consumables, third-party certification fees; no Clark overhead in the base):
| Delivered courses/month | Fixed monthly facility fee | Revenue share of contribution margin |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | CAD 1,250 | 12% |
| 3–4 | CAD 2,500 | 10% |
| 5+ | CAD 4,000 | 8% |
The structure is designed to be auditable in an afternoon. The beta goal is operational simplicity, not transfer-pricing optimization.
Planning scenarios
Core assumptions: Year 1 average class of 8 (Year 2: 9); blended revenue per student CAD 1,100/1,200/1,350 (conservative/base/optimistic), rising to CAD 1,150/1,300/1,500 in Year 2; direct instructional cost rate ~55% Year 1, ~52% Year 2.
Year 1:
| Metric | Conservative | Base | Optimistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Courses delivered | 14 | 22 | 34 |
| Student-events | 112 | 176 | 306 |
| Gross revenue | CAD 123,200 | CAD 211,200 | CAD 413,100 |
| Contribution after direct costs | CAD 55,440 | CAD 95,040 | CAD 185,895 |
| Host fixed + rev-share | CAD 14,294 | CAD 32,504 | CAD 47,872 |
| Net Clark contribution | CAD 41,146 | CAD 62,536 | CAD 138,023 |
Year 2 (richer CIT and Clark Courses mix):
| Metric | Conservative | Base | Optimistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total courses + modules | 24 | 40 | 60 |
| Student-events | 190 | 330 | 540 |
| Gross revenue | CAD 218,500 | CAD 429,000 | CAD 810,000 |
| Net Clark contribution | CAD 66,892 | CAD 145,328 | CAD 309,696 |
Break-even floor: about two 8-student courses (~12–16 students) per month against ~CAD 8,738 of monthly fixed costs — roughly CAD 17,600 gross monthly. The model's honest conclusion: training reaches direct operating break-even quickly at modest volume, and the binding risk is instructor readiness and delivery capacity, not the fee structure.
Revenue mix priority
- IPC CIS and early-volume certification courses (cash and credibility)
- CIT / train-the-trainer (highest value — every graduate multiplies capacity)
- Clark Courses public and private cohorts (strongest long-term margin once curriculum cost is amortized)
- Curriculum licensing (the scale layer, deliberately last)
5. Governance and responsibility split
- Clark owns service delivery, the brand, training standards, instructor contracting, instructor liability, and training-process compliance.
- The host facility owns the footprint, facility safety and site procedures, and trainee-injury/equipment-damage responsibility at the facility level.
- An Advisory Group (regional university representation, certification-ecosystem representation, local industry) receives monthly updates and convenes quarterly — a working group with outside eyes, not an approval body. Clark retains operational and standards control.
6. First-twelve-months priorities
- Generate real revenue through IPC-related training (the protocol's "capability demonstrated" proof).
- Build direct workforce capability for the host and the surrounding region.
- Deliver the credential + context mix rigorously enough that students, employers, and academic partners respect both layers.
- Establish the repeatable operating template — the bench plan as a document another town can run.
- Prove replicability well enough to support licensing — the moment one bench becomes a network question, the Counterweight File takes over.
7. Open items
- Final seat pricing by course family; private-cohort day rates; licensing fee structure.
- Instructor pipeline: CIT certification for the first instructor is the critical-path upfront cost; budget it first.
- The Clark Certified record format and verification workflow (conventional digital issuance first).
- Conversion telemetry: Clark Courses ↔ IPC pathway conversion rates are unknown until cohorts run. Instrument from day one.