Module 2 — Governance, the Manual, support, and escalation

Section 1 · Pre-work (60 minutes)

Required reading

• Operations Manual §1.2 (Manual Governance), §1.3 (Confidentiality and Access), §1.4 (Updates and Version Control). 20 minutes.
• Operations Manual §3.2 (Ticketing and Severity Levels — read in full, including the SEV 1–5 detail). 15 minutes.
• Operations Manual §3.3 (Field Audits) and §3.4 (Corrective Action and Dispute Escalation). 15 minutes.
• The trainee’s own Franchise Agreement sections covering audit, cure periods, dispute resolution, confidentiality. 10 minutes.

Pre-session knowledge check

Submitted via Partner Portal at least 24 hours before the session. Failing the check (under 4 of 5 correct) gates classroom attendance.

1. A Manual section uses the word “should.” Is the action required or recommended? Why?
2. A local AHJ requires a procedure that conflicts with a [MANDATORY] standard. What is the correct sequence of franchisee actions per §1.2.5?
3. An operational employee resigns Friday at 4:50 pm. What must be completed before end-of-day, and what is the audit consequence of failing to do it?
4. A driver reports being charged four times the displayed price for a session that ended yesterday. What is the correct severity level and the response time?
5. The franchisee disagrees with a ticket’s severity classification. Can the franchisee reclassify it themselves? What is the correct action per §3.2.4?

Bring to session

• The trainee’s executed Franchise Agreement (relevant sections from pre-work)
• The trainee’s current access log (or, if none exists yet, a working list of every person who currently has any HiON-system credential)
• A working copy of the Operations Manual’s table of contents (already in pre-work)

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Section 2 · Learning objectives

By the end of this module, the trainee can:

1. Decode any Manual label correctly ([MANDATORY], [APPROVAL REQUIRED], [RECOMMENDED], [LOCAL-LAW DEPENDENT], [TEMPLATE]) and identify required-standard language (must, will, shall, may not) when a paragraph is not explicitly labeled.
2. Apply the conflict priority when two or more sources of direction conflict — law/AHJ → FA/MUDA/MSA → Manual → job aids/bulletins/training — without reordering and without skipping the documentation step.
3. File a complete exception request with all eight required elements, and never implement an exception before HiON written approval (except where law or permit compels immediate deviation, in which case notify same Business Day and file within five Business Days).
4. Maintain a compliant access log across three tiers (Owner/DBM, Operational employee, Contractor/vendor) and execute same-Business-Day offboarding when any person ceases to have a need-to-know.
5. Classify any operational event into SEV 1–5 within 60 seconds using the §3.2.1 definitions, and open a ticket with all eight required fields from §3.2.4.
6. Survive a scheduled site audit — execute the cooperation obligations, respond to a “Corrective Action Required” finding with a complete CAP by deadline, and avoid the escalation to material default.
7. Use the §3.4.1 escalation ladder in sequence without stage-jumping, and continue operating to standard during every stage of escalation.

Each objective maps to at least one item in Section 7 (Competency assessment).

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Section 3 · Why this matters

The Operations Manual is not a reference document the franchisee reads when something goes wrong. It is the operating contract the franchisee is governed by every day, embedded in the Franchise Agreement (§1.1 [MANDATORY]). Misreading a Manual label is not a careless error — it is a default of the FA. The five-label system (§1.2.1) and the conflict-priority hierarchy (§1.2.5) are how the franchisee defends every operating decision under audit. The exception process (§1.2.6) is how the franchisee operates against an impossible local condition without committing a breach.

The Manual is also Confidential Information under the FA (§1.3). The same operator who would never email a competitor a copy of their own balance sheet routinely treats the Operations Manual as if it were a public asset — sharing extracts with a contractor, photographing a page for a Site Host, posting a screenshot to a private Slack. Each of those acts is a §1.3 [MANDATORY] violation. The discipline of access control — three tiers, named-user accounts, multi-factor authentication, same-Business-Day offboarding — is the operator-grade hygiene that protects the franchisee from being the breach point.

The SEV system (§3.2) is the response-clock infrastructure of the entire relationship. Misclassifying a SEV 1 as a SEV 4 because “it didn’t look that bad” can kill someone. Misclassifying a SEV 3 as a SEV 5 because the franchisee wants to handle the driver themselves is the failure mode in §10.3.1 (escalate-never-resolve) that compounds into a §3.3 audit finding.

The audit posture (§3.3) is not adversarial — HiON’s stated purpose is to “identify gaps early enough to fix them before they harm the customer promise, the brand, or the System” (§3.3 Purpose). But the audit is also where every other system in this Module lands. A Corrective Action Plan that misses its deadline becomes a material default (§3.3.4). A finding that the franchisee tried to close out by talking to the FBC instead of submitting a formal CAP becomes a §3.4.2 violation — pursuing escalation out of sequence is itself a material breach.

The escalation ladder (§3.4.1) is the franchisee’s friend, not the franchisee’s enemy. It is the path the franchisee uses when something stalls — and shortcutting it is the path the franchisee uses to make a stall into a breach.

Acknowledged Elephant: most franchisees do not believe their audit will surface a finding. Most franchisees turn out to be wrong about that. The Metrics in §3.3 target 90% of escalation matters resolving at Stage 1 or Stage 2 — meaning HiON expects 10% to require deeper escalation as a matter of system design. Every operator-grade franchisee learns to use the system on the cheap side of the curve. The franchisees who do not, the FBC eventually has to.

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Section 4 · Core content

4.1 — How to read the Manual: labels and writing conventions (§1.2.1–§1.2.2)

Every rule in the Manual carries one of five labels:

Label	Meaning
[MANDATORY]	A required system standard. Non-compliance is a default of the Franchise Agreement (§1.2.1).
[APPROVAL REQUIRED]	A decision the franchisee may not make without HiON’s prior written approval. Submit per §1.2.6 and wait for the written decision.
[RECOMMENDED]	A proven best practice. The franchisee should implement it unless local conditions or business judgment call for a different approach — and unless all related required standards are still met.
[LOCAL-LAW DEPENDENT]	The correct approach depends on jurisdiction. The franchisee complies with applicable laws and files an exception under §1.2.6 if local rules appear to conflict with a required standard.
[TEMPLATE]	A starting point only. Adapt to the specific situation, but no template supersedes a required standard.

The writing-conventions gotcha (§1.2.2): required standards use must, will, shall, required, may not. Recommendations use should, recommended, suggested, may. The Manual states: “If a sentence in this Manual uses required-standard language, treat it as a required standard even if the paragraph around it is not explicitly labeled.” That is the trap to watch for — a long paragraph reads narratively but a single sentence inside it uses the word must. That sentence is a required standard regardless of how soft the paragraph reads.

4.2 — Standards vs. procedures: the substitution test (§1.2.3)

Many Sections of the Manual define a required outcome (the system standard) and then provide a procedure to achieve that outcome. Per §1.2.3, the franchisee may use an alternative procedure to meet the standard, provided four conditions:

1. The alternative meets the required standard in full
2. The alternative does not reduce safety, accessibility, network reliability, customer experience, or brand consistency
3. If the Section marks the underlying decision [APPROVAL REQUIRED], the franchisee has HiON’s prior written approval under §1.2.6
4. The franchisee can document and demonstrate compliance on audit

HiON reserves the right to determine, in its reasonable discretion, whether the alternative is suitable.

The practical use of §1.2.3: if a local vendor cannot perform a Manual-prescribed procedure exactly as written, the franchisee does not have to choose between (a) breaking the Manual and (b) abandoning the operational need. The franchisee constructs a documented alternative that meets the standard and (where needed) files for written approval.

4.3 — Conflict priority (§1.2.5)

If two or more sources of direction conflict, the order is fixed. Higher items control over lower items:

1. Applicable law, regulation, permit condition, or AHJ requirement — non-negotiable.
2. The franchisee’s Franchise Agreement and, where applicable, Multi-Unit Development Agreement and Master Services Agreement — the operating contract.
3. This Operations Manual (current version on the Partner Portal).
4. Job aids, field bulletins, templates, training materials — must align with the Manual; where any such material appears to conflict, the Manual controls.

The crucial conflict case (§1.2.5): if a local law, permit condition, or utility requirement appears to conflict with a required standard, the franchisee must — in this order:

• (a) Comply with the law, permit condition, or utility requirement
• (b) Document the conflict
• (c) Notify HiON immediately and request an exception under §1.2.6

That sequence — comply, document, notify — is the operator-grade hygiene that protects the franchisee. Compliance without documentation is invisible to HiON; documentation without notification is invisible to HiON; notification without exception request is incomplete.

4.4 — The exception process (§1.2.6)

The exception process is HiON’s mechanism for keeping the System auditable while allowing real-world flexibility. The franchisee should think of §1.2.6 as the franchisee’s tool, not HiON’s.

When HiON may grant an exception (§1.2.6):

• True conflict between a required standard and applicable law / permit / utility / AHJ requirement
• A physical site constraint prevents compliance
• An alternative method improves safety, accessibility, reliability, or customer experience without harming brand or system consistency
• An equipment/network/software change maintains all required performance and interoperability standards

When HiON will not grant an exception (§1.2.6 — verbatim):

• Compromise of driver, worker, or public safety
• Compromise of ADA or any applicable accessibility law
• Compromise of data privacy, cybersecurity, or payment-processing integrity
• Compromise of the integrity of the Tesla Supercharger network or any interface
• Dilution of the Marks, the brand, or the customer promise
• Reduction in reliability, uptime, or service experience (unless HiON explicitly approves a written mitigation plan)

What the exception request must include (§1.2.6) — eight elements:

1. The HiON EV Franchise identifier and location
2. The specific Section and required standard the franchisee cannot meet, quoted or referenced by Section number
3. The reason the standard cannot be met (law, permit, utility, site constraint, host restriction, or similar), with supporting documentation
4. The proposed alternative approach in enough detail for HiON to evaluate it
5. A risk assessment covering safety, accessibility, uptime, customer experience, brand, and compliance impacts
6. How success will be measured (metric, evidence, or audit item)
7. Whether the exception is temporary or permanent; if temporary, expected end date
8. Supporting photos, diagrams, permits, correspondence, or attachments

HiON’s response (§1.2.6):

• Acknowledgment within 5 Business Days of receipt
• Written decision within 20 Business Days of receipt of a complete request (clock pauses if HiON requests additional information)
• Decision options: grant, deny, or grant subject to conditions (additional signage, different maintenance cadence, additional reporting, defined review date)
• An approved exception that proves repeatable may become a Manual update

The MANDATORY constraint (§1.2.6): the franchisee may not implement an exception to a required standard before receiving HiON’s written approval — except where applicable law, a permit condition, or utility requirement compels immediate deviation. In that case, notify HiON the same Business Day and file the completed exception request within five Business Days.

Records retention (§1.2 Required Standards Summary): retain exception requests, HiON responses, and supporting documentation for the duration of the Term and at least three years after expiration or termination of the FA.

4.5 — Confidentiality, IP, and access control (§1.3)

The Operations Manual, the training materials, the Partner Portal, the playbooks, the templates, and the support tools are Confidential Information under the Franchise Agreement (§1.3). That is operationally significant — every access decision is a Confidential Information decision.

The five [MANDATORY] standards in §1.3:

1. Treat the Manual and every related training/support/operational asset as Confidential Information under the FA
2. Do not copy, distribute, summarize, post, photograph, scan, upload, email, or transmit any portion of the Manual to any person other than: an owner of the Franchisee entity; the DBM; an employee or contractor with a bona fide operational need-to-know; or a professional advisor under an equivalent confidentiality obligation
3. Do not use the Manual for any purpose other than operating the HiON EV Franchise under the FA
4. Do not use, publish, or share HiON Confidential Information, trade-secret methodology, or proprietary System information in any marketing, investor, social media, or public-facing material without HiON’s prior written approval
5. Retrieve the Manual, reset credentials, and revoke access for any person who leaves, changes role, or no longer has a bona fide need-to-know

The three access tiers (§1.3) — assign each person to the lowest tier consistent with their role:

Tier	Who	What they see
Owner / Designated Business Manager	All Franchisee owners + the DBM	Full Manual; HiON support and reporting portals; financial reports; site performance data; vendor and host records; compliance logs
Operational employee	Employees with day-to-day operational responsibility	Full access to the Sections that apply to their role; limited/no access to financial, legal, or system-wide strategic information
Contractor / vendor	Third parties engaged for specific work	Access only to the narrowly-scoped information required to perform their work, under a written confidentiality obligation consistent with the FA

Granting access (§1.3 Procedures.A): signed written acknowledgment in HiON’s specified form before any person is granted access. Assigned to one of the three tiers. Named-user accounts only — no shared logins. Multi-factor authentication on every account that supports it. Recorded in the franchisee’s access log: who, when, what tier, by whom.

Changes in role (§1.3 Procedures.B): re-evaluate access tier within five Business Days of any role change. Adjust access. Record in the access log.

Offboarding (§1.3 Procedures.C) — the same-Business-Day discipline: On the same Business Day a person ceases to be employed/engaged or otherwise loses need-to-know:

• Revoke or disable credentials to every HiON system, tool, portal, and to every system HiON has authorized in connection with the operation of the HiON EV Franchise
• Reclaim all physical copies of the Manual, every extract or print, every HiON-branded device, every keycard, every piece of site-access equipment
• Confirm any HiON data the person held locally has been deleted, with the person’s written acknowledgment of the deletion
• Remove the person from all HiON-related shared mailboxes, messaging channels, and distribution lists
• Record the offboarding in the access log

The same-Business-Day standard is the §1.3 audit item. A Friday-afternoon resignation that gets offboarded Monday morning is a finding.

Requests from third parties (§1.3 Procedures.D): if any regulator, law-enforcement officer, litigant, investor, lender, insurer, Site Host, prospective Site Host, MUDA partner, or other third party requests the Manual or HiON Confidential Information, the franchisee must:

1. Decline disclosure without HiON’s prior written approval (unless applicable law compels disclosure and time does not permit prior notification)
2. Notify HiON in writing within one Business Day of the request
3. Cooperate with HiON to evaluate the request, negotiate a protective order where available, and respond appropriately

4.6 — Manual updates and version control (§1.4)

HiON updates the Manual as the System evolves. The Partner Portal version is the authoritative version at all times; any local copy is for convenience only (§1.4).

The four [MANDATORY] standards in §1.4:

1. Operate the HiON EV Franchise using the current version of the Manual at all times
2. Acknowledge each Manual update within the timeframe stated in the update notice
3. Ensure every owner, DBM, employee, and contractor with a role affected by an update is trained on it before they perform any work implicating the updated standard
4. Destroy or conspicuously mark as superseded every paper copy of any prior version; do not operate from a superseded version

Effective dates (§1.4 How We Issue Updates):

• Non-safety-critical updates ordinarily take effect 30 calendar days after issuance
• Safety-critical, regulatory-compliance, or network-integrity updates may take effect immediately
• Updates requiring capital expenditure or material operational change get a reasonable transition period proportional to the change

Version-control discipline on the franchisee’s side (§1.4):

• Maintain a single source of truth for the current Manual within the HiON EV Franchise. Partner Portal version is authoritative.
• Route each update to every team member the update affects; obtain their acknowledgment; record the acknowledgment in the training log
• Update or replace local artifacts (checklists, templates, SOPs) within the transition period
• Do not modify the Manual or redistribute modified extracts. Training materials and job aids the franchisee creates locally must not misstate or water down any required standard.

The audit consequence (§1.4 Metrics): Manual version in active use matches the Partner Portal version. Local artifacts updated within transition periods. Acknowledgments on file for every affected person. No paper copies of superseded versions in use.

4.7 — The SEV 1–5 severity system (§3.2.1–§3.2.2)

The franchisee classifies every operational event into one of five severity levels. Classification drives the response clock on both sides.

Severity	Definition	Examples
SEV 1 — Safety / Emergency	Immediate risk of harm to drivers, workers, or public; imminent risk of property damage; visible electrical, fire, or hazardous-material condition	Fire/smoke; electrical arcing or exposed energized components; vehicle collision; injury on site; active threat; major flooding/sinkhole/structural collapse; credible bomb/weapon/violence threat
SEV 2 — Outage	Equipment offline/degraded or site missing from Tesla application in a way that affects drivers	All posts at a site offline; cabinet fault affecting multiple posts; post that repeatedly faults mid-session or fails to initiate; site disappears from Tesla app; utility outage affecting the site
SEV 3 — Customer / Payment	Driver-facing issue with session, payment, billing, refund, or account access raised to the franchisee; driver experience issue that does not meet the customer promise	Driver reports double-charge, unauthorized charge, session that did not end, refund not processed; cancel-session request; driver cannot find site or site metadata wrong in Tesla app
SEV 4 — Degraded UX	Condition that diminishes the customer promise but does not prevent charging	Faded wrap; burned-out light fixture; missing or illegible sign; bad pavement striping; trash/debris/drifting snow in charging bay; non-urgent accessibility-path obstruction
SEV 5 — Cosmetic / Administrative	Non-time-sensitive items, administrative questions, reporting cadence matters	Brand-asset updates; general questions about reporting; configuration requests that can wait for next maintenance window

Required franchisee actions by SEV (§3.2.2):

SEV 1 — Safety / Emergency:

1. Dial 911 (or local equivalent) if any person is at immediate risk or the event requires fire/medical/law-enforcement response
2. Make the scene safe — evacuate the bay; de-energize at the utility disconnect only if safe AND only if trained; block off the area; direct drivers away
3. Notify the NOC Hotline by voice immediately. Open a SEV 1 ticket in the Partner Portal within 30 minutes of the event (or as soon as safe)
4. Preserve evidence — do not tamper; do not discard damaged equipment; photograph only from a safe distance
5. Complete the formal Incident Report (Section 13, form in Appendices) within 24 hours
6. Do not make public or media statements about the event. Direct all inquiries to HiON per §3.2.5

SEV 2 — Outage:

1. Open a NOC Fault Escalation ticket as soon as aware and in any event within 1 hour
2. Include in the ticket: site identifier, affected post(s), time first observed, time aware, whether drivers currently affected, on-site observations (visible damage, error codes, environmental conditions), whether utility outage confirmed or ruled out
3. Do not attempt hardware remediation. Site-area factors within the franchisee’s scope (snow, ice, debris, bollard damage blocking a stall) may be addressed
4. Provide access for HiON’s authorized service providers consistent with §2.1.4 and the MSA. Access failures may trigger False Call-Out liquidated damages
5. Do not promise drivers a specific restoration time. Direct driver questions to the Tesla application and to the Driver Experience and Payments Liaison per §10

SEV 3 — Customer / Payment:

1. Collect the driver’s contact info, date and approximate session time, description in the driver’s own words
2. Do not confirm, deny, dispute, or promise a refund. The payment infrastructure is outside the franchisee’s operational scope
3. Open a SEV 3 ticket within 1 Business Day and route the driver to the Tesla application support flow or to the Driver Experience and Payments Liaison per HiON direction
4. Log the interaction in the customer-interaction log (§10) and retain per §15

SEV 4 — Degraded UX:

1. Open a SEV 4 ticket or add the item to the site’s regular maintenance punch list (§9)
2. For items within site-area maintenance scope, remediate within the §9 timeframe. For out-of-scope items, flag for HiON

SEV 5 — Cosmetic / Administrative:

1. Open a SEV 5 ticket at the franchisee’s convenience. No immediate operational action required

HiON’s response targets (§3.2.3) — Franchisee-facing communication, not restoration:

Severity	Acknowledgment	Initial plan	Update cadence
SEV 1	Within 30 min of voice notification	Within 2 hours of acknowledgment	Hourly until safe; thereafter every 4 hours
SEV 2	Within 2 hours of ticket opening	Within 8 business hours	Every 8 business hours until restoration
SEV 3	Within 1 Business Day	Within 3 Business Days	As status changes
SEV 4	Within 3 Business Days	Within 10 Business Days	At scheduled maintenance intervals
SEV 5	Within 5 Business Days	As applicable	As applicable

These are Franchisee-facing communication targets — they are not restoration-time guarantees. Restoration is governed by the MSA. Where the Manual’s communication target and the MSA differ, the MSA controls (§3.2.3).

4.8 — Ticket quality and incident-period communications (§3.2.4–§3.2.5)

Required fields for every ticket (§3.2.4) — eight elements:

• Site identifier (HiON EV Facility ID)
• Severity level
• Time first observed and time ticket opened (with explicit time zone — Manual notes Central Time preferred)
• Description in the franchisee’s own words
• Whether drivers are currently affected
• On-site observations (photos, error codes, environmental conditions)
• Contact person on the franchisee’s team and preferred contact method
• Any exception or prior-approval reference number that applies

The MANDATORY ticket-discipline standard (§3.2.4):

“You must not close, cancel, or unilaterally reclassify a ticket. Only we may change a ticket’s severity, status, or resolution. If you believe a ticket has been misclassified, add a comment to the ticket explaining why.”

That is non-negotiable. If the FBC verbally agrees a SEV 2 should drop to SEV 4 on a phone call, the franchisee does not act on that verbal direction by reclassifying the ticket — the FBC reclassifies it in the system. The franchisee adds a comment requesting reclassification and waits.

External communications during incidents (§3.2.5):

• [MANDATORY] No public statement, media statement, social-media post, regulator statement, or Site Host statement about a SEV 1 event without HiON’s prior written approval — except to the minimum extent necessary to protect life or property or to cooperate with an investigating authority
• [MANDATORY] Notify HiON of every regulator, law-enforcement, insurance, or media contact related to any HiON EV Facility within 1 Business Day of the contact, regardless of severity
• [RECOMMENDED] Use the short-form Site Host communication template from the Partner Portal rather than speculating. The Manual’s approved baseline: “We are working with HiON to restore the site and we will update you as we have more information.”

The audit metrics (§3.2.5):

• Ticket completeness rate (% of tickets meeting required-fields standard without follow-up clarification)
• SEV 1 voice-notification compliance (% of SEV 1 events for which the voice call was made prior to or simultaneously with the ticket entry)
• Off-channel escalations (target: zero)
• Driver-payment matters escalated within 1 Business Day (target: 100%)

4.9 — Field audits (§3.3)

HiON audits every HiON EV Facility and every Franchisee against the required standards in the Manual. Audits verify what the franchisee reports matches what is in the field, and identify gaps early.

The five audit types (§3.3.1):

Type	Scope	Cadence	Notice
Remote records review	Partner Portal records, ticket history, financial reporting, Sinking Fund statements, insurance certificates, training records, acknowledgments	Continuous; formal review at least annually	None required; HiON may request additional records anytime
Scheduled site audit	On-site visit — brand execution, signage, pavement, accessibility, site-area maintenance, safety posting, lighting, access controls	At least once per HiON EV Facility per calendar year; more frequently for new sites or sites with recent corrective actions	At least 10 Business Days’ notice
Unannounced site audit	Same scope as scheduled, performed without notice to verify standing condition and mitigate prep-for-audit effect	As HiON determines	None
Incident-triggered audit	Focused audit following SEV 1 event, pattern of SEV 2 events, regulator inquiry, driver complaint pattern, or discovered misrepresentation	As triggered	Minimal or none
Transfer or renewal audit	Comprehensive audit in connection with proposed transfer or renewal/successor-term request	Per event	At least 15 Business Days

Cooperation obligations (§3.3.2) — four [MANDATORY] standards:

1. Cooperate with every audit, including permitting authorized auditors onto the HiON EV Facility and into business records consistent with the FA. Obstruction, delay, refusal, or failure to cooperate constitutes a default under the FA and may trigger the Audit Fee. [CONFIRM Audit Fee amount — FA]
2. Retain all records, evidence, acknowledgments, logs, and other materials the Manual requires for the period specified in the FA — and where not otherwise specified, for at least 3 years after the relevant event, or longer if applicable law requires
3. Make the DBM or another authorized representative available for an audit opening and closing meeting and available for follow-up questions during and after
4. Do not disclose audit findings, audit results, audit methodology, or audit personnel names to any third party other than a professional advisor under a confidentiality obligation consistent with the FA

The four audit outputs (§3.3.3):

Outcome	Meaning	Franchisee obligation
Pass	No findings, or only findings that do not require corrective action	None beyond continuing operation to standard
Pass with observations	Minor findings — areas where the franchisee can improve, but not required-standard violations	Review with DBM; incorporate into operational rhythm
Corrective Action Required	One or more required-standard violations; a CAP is required	Submit a CAP within the timeframe in the audit report (typically 10 Business Days). Close out each item within the cure period specified
Material Default	A finding that constitutes a material default under the FA, MUDA, or MSA	Respond as directed in the audit report; §3.4 and the applicable agreement govern next steps

The Corrective Action Plan (§3.3.4) — six elements required per finding:

1. The finding, referenced to the required standard and Manual Section
2. The root cause as the franchisee has determined it
3. The immediate corrective action taken or to be taken
4. The preventative action that keeps the finding from recurring (process change, training update, vendor change, additional checklist, etc.)
5. The owner on the franchisee’s team, the cure completion date, and the evidence to provide on completion
6. The date the preventative action will be verified effective (typically by next audit)

The [MANDATORY] CAP discipline (§3.3.4): submit by the deadline in the audit report. Failure to submit on time, failure to cure by the cure date, or a recurrent finding that demonstrates a systemic issue may each be treated as a material default. CAPs are not optional homework.

4.10 — The escalation ladder (§3.4.1)

When standard support stalls or the franchisee disagrees with an audit outcome, the §3.4.1 ladder is the path. Stage-jumping is a [MANDATORY] violation.

Stage	Who	Timeframe	How
1. Standard support channel	Appropriate role per §3.1.1	Per response expectations in §3.2.3	Partner Portal ticket
2. FBC escalation	The franchisee’s FBC	5 Business Days after Stage 1 stalls	Ticket comment or scheduled FBC touchpoint
3. Functional Director escalation	Director of the relevant function (NOC, Operations, Compliance, Marketing, etc.)	10 Business Days after Stage 2 requested	Written request via Partner Portal, referencing prior ticket and FBC record
4. Senior Management Referral	Senior executives of HiON Franchise Group, LLC	20 days of good-faith engagement, consistent with the MSA senior-management referral process	Formal written notice in the manner the applicable agreement requires
5. Formal dispute resolution	Per the FA (arbitration in Kansas City, Kansas) and/or MSA (JAMS arbitration)	Per the applicable agreement	Per the applicable agreement

Required cooperation during escalation — three [MANDATORY] standards (§3.4.2):

1. Pursue Stages 1 through 4 in good faith and in the sequence above before invoking Stage 5 — except where emergency relief, statutory deadlines, or express terms of the FA/MSA require otherwise. Skipping or short-circuiting the ladder may itself be a material breach.
2. Continue to operate the HiON EV Franchise in accordance with the Manual and all required standards during every stage of escalation. A dispute does not suspend operational, fee, or reporting obligations.
3. Preserve all records, correspondence, and materials related to the matter in escalation until fully resolved and for the retention period required by the FA or applicable law, whichever is longer.

Default and termination (§3.4.3): the FA defines what constitutes a default, the cure periods, and the termination procedure. The Manual lists, for reference, the conduct categories that typically trigger corrective action or default:

• Failure to meet or cure a required-standard finding identified in an audit
• Failure to pay fees, royalties, or other amounts when due
• Unauthorized deviation from a required standard (including unauthorized equipment, unauthorized use of the Marks, unauthorized payment hardware)
• Conduct that damages the HiON brand, the Tesla Supercharger network integration, or the customer promise
• Violations of law affecting the franchisee’s ability to operate (loss of permits, insurance, utility service)
• Failure to cooperate with audits, investigations, or mandatory reporting
• Transfer, assignment, or change of control without HiON’s prior written approval
• Any other event expressly designated as a default in the FA, MUDA, or MSA

The audit metrics (§3.4 Metrics):

• Escalation matters resolved at Stage 1 or Stage 2 — target at least 90%
• Senior Management Referrals proceeding to formal dispute resolution — target zero
• No instance of an operational obligation suspended because of a pending escalation

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Section 5 · Decision drills

Drill 5.1 — The “should” that bites

A new Operations Lead reads §10.2.2 and brings up the following: “Section 10.2.2 says ‘You should direct any driver pricing question to the Tesla application.’ Since it says ‘should,’ I’d like to test whether posting our own prices on a chalkboard at the front of the bay would improve clarity. It would only run for 30 days.”

State the response and the cited basis. State the next two actions.

Drill 5.2 — The local AHJ conflict

The franchisee’s electrical permit for the Parker site requires a specific bollard placement that conflicts with the [MANDATORY] HiON Site Design Manual standard for charging-bay clearance dimensions. The permit will not issue without the conflicting placement.

State the exact sequence of franchisee actions per §1.2.5 and §1.2.6, with the cited basis for each.

Drill 5.3 — The Friday-afternoon resignation

At 4:50 pm on a Friday, the franchisee’s Operations Lead resigns effective immediately by text message. She has Partner Portal credentials (Operational employee tier), a HiON-branded laptop, a keycard for the cabinet enclosure, and a copy of the Manual’s §9 (Maintenance) on a personal phone. The franchisee’s DBM is on vacation; the franchisee is the only person on-site.

State everything that must be completed before end-of-day Friday and the cited basis. State what is recorded where.

Drill 5.4 — The driver claiming a 4× charge

At 11:14 am Tuesday, a driver tells the on-site Operations Lead: “I was charged $312 yesterday for a 40-minute session that should have cost about $80 at the rate shown in the app. I checked my bank statement this morning. I want to know now what you’re going to do.” The driver shows the bank statement on his phone.

State the SEV classification, the cited basis, the exact response language the Operations Lead uses, and the next two actions.

Drill 5.5 — The audit notice during launch week

The franchisee receives a 10-Business-Day notice of a scheduled site audit for the Parker site. The audit will fall on the same week as the franchisee’s Parker site grand opening and ribbon-cutting. The DBM is overwhelmed and asks the franchisee if they can request to defer the audit by two weeks “until launch dust has settled.”

State the response and the cited basis. State the franchisee’s actual next two actions.

Drill 5.6 — The FBC’s verbal reclassification

On a scheduled FBC touchpoint, the FBC says: “You’re right, that SEV 2 from last week should have been a SEV 3 — it wasn’t really an outage, just a session-initiation issue. Just close it out as a SEV 3 on your end and we’ll mark it resolved.”

State the franchisee’s response and the cited basis. State what the franchisee does on the ticket.

Drill 5.7 — The post-CAP recurrence

A scheduled site audit 6 months ago surfaced a Corrective Action Required finding for inadequate pavement striping. The franchisee submitted a CAP, restriped, and got the item cured. At the current scheduled audit, the auditor finds the striping has faded again — partially because the contractor used a non-standard paint despite the CAP’s preventative action specifying HiON-approved striping vendors.

State the most likely audit outcome and the cited basis. State the next three actions.

Drill 5.8 — The escalation that wants to skip

A SEV 3 ticket from the franchisee on a driver double-charge has been open for 17 Business Days with no resolution. The driver has now retained counsel and the franchisee’s own General Counsel is asking: “Why aren’t we just going to arbitration on this — it’s clearly HiON’s payment infrastructure issue?”

State the franchisee’s response to their own General Counsel and the cited basis. State the next two actions in the §3.4 sequence.

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Section 6 · Common operator errors

6.1 — Reading “should” as optional when the surrounding section is [MANDATORY]

The franchisee reads a paragraph that mostly uses “should” and concludes the entire section is recommended. One sentence inside the paragraph uses “must.”

• Consequence: §1.2.2 writing-conventions violation. The single “must” sentence is a required standard regardless of the surrounding paragraph. Non-compliance is a default of the FA.
• Discipline: scan every paragraph for required-standard language (must, will, shall, may not) before relying on the paragraph’s narrative tone.

6.2 — Skipping the exception request and “just doing it”

A local AHJ requires something the franchisee believes is reasonable. The franchisee complies with the AHJ and proceeds without filing an exception, reasoning that “the AHJ requirement trumps everything anyway.”

• Consequence: §1.2.5(c) violation — the franchisee did not notify HiON or request the exception. The conflict is invisible to HiON until the next audit, at which point the franchisee has an undocumented deviation from a required standard.
• Discipline: comply with the AHJ, document the conflict, notify HiON immediately, file the exception request under §1.2.6 within the next Business Day.

6.3 — Sharing logins between operations leads

The franchisee creates one Partner Portal login and shares it across the operations team because “it’s easier than managing five separate accounts.”

• Consequence: §1.3 Procedures.A violation (named-user accounts only). Audit finding under §1.3 Metrics: “No shared or group logins in use.” Compounds: when an operations lead leaves, the franchisee cannot tell which actions were theirs.
• Discipline: named-user accounts only. Multi-factor authentication on every account. The cost of five logins is rounding-error compared to the cost of one shared-login audit finding.

6.4 — Failing the same-Business-Day offboarding standard

An operations lead resigns Friday afternoon. The franchisee waits until Monday morning to revoke credentials and reclaim materials.

• Consequence: §1.3 Procedures.C [MANDATORY] violation. The §1.3 Metrics audit item explicitly requires same-Business-Day completion. The fact that it was inconvenient is not a defense.
• Discipline: offboarding starts immediately on notice. Credentials revoked. Materials reclaimed. Access log updated. The franchisee can do the cleanup over the weekend, but the lockout happens on the same Business Day the role ends.

6.5 — Operating from a superseded Manual version

The franchisee printed a copy of the Manual when first onboarded and is still operating from that printed copy two years later.

• Consequence: §1.4 [MANDATORY] violation. The Partner Portal version is authoritative; any local copy is for convenience only. Operating from a superseded version may produce a finding that the franchisee did not implement an update.
• Discipline: the Partner Portal version is always authoritative. Treat any printed copy as a snapshot — useful for offline reading, not authoritative. Destroy superseded printed copies on each update.

6.6 — Closing a SEV ticket unilaterally because “the issue resolved itself”

A SEV 2 outage from yesterday self-resolved overnight. The franchisee closes the ticket from the Partner Portal interface to clean up the queue.

• Consequence: §3.2.4 [MANDATORY] violation — “you must not close, cancel, or unilaterally reclassify a ticket. Only we may change a ticket’s severity, status, or resolution.”
• Discipline: the franchisee never closes a ticket. The franchisee adds a comment (“appears resolved as of [time]; please confirm”). HiON closes the ticket.

6.7 — Discussing audit findings with the Site Host

The Site Host asks the DBM how the audit went. The DBM, trying to be transparent, says: “They flagged the pavement striping for corrective action — we’ll get it restriped by next month.”

• Consequence: §3.3.2 [MANDATORY] violation — “you may not disclose audit findings, audit results, audit methodology, or our audit personnel’s names to any third party other than a professional advisor under a confidentiality obligation.”
• Discipline: audit findings are between HiON and the franchisee. The right answer to the Site Host’s question: “The audit went fine. Standard scheduled review. I’ll let you know if anything affects the site directly.”

6.8 — Stage-jumping the escalation ladder

A SEV 3 has been open for 20 Business Days. The franchisee, frustrated, instructs counsel to issue a demand letter under the FA’s dispute resolution provisions.

• Consequence: §3.4.2 [MANDATORY] violation. The escalation ladder requires Stages 1 through 4 in sequence (5 BD post-stall to FBC escalation; 10 BD to Functional Director; 20 days of good-faith engagement before Senior Management Referral) before Stage 5 formal dispute resolution. Skipping is itself a material breach.
• Discipline: the ladder is the protection, not the obstacle. Document the Stage 1 stall, invoke Stage 2 (FBC escalation) at 5 Business Days, then Stage 3, then Stage 4 — and only then Stage 5 if the matter has not resolved.

6.9 — Suspending operational obligations during a dispute

The franchisee, in active escalation over an MSA charge dispute, withholds the disputed amount from the next ACH debit “until the dispute is resolved.”

• Consequence: §3.4.2 [MANDATORY] violation — a dispute does not suspend operational, fee, or reporting obligations. The withholding is itself a separate FA breach (the no-offset rule in §12.2).
• Discipline: continue paying every fee and meeting every operational standard during escalation. The escalation ladder is the place to dispute the charge, not the ACH file.

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Section 7 · Competency assessment

Knowledge check (12 questions; 80% pass; one retake permitted; second failure triggers FBC review)

1. A Manual paragraph reads narratively but contains the sentence “the franchisee must complete the form within five Business Days.” This sentence is: (a) recommended (b) a required standard regardless of the surrounding paragraph (§1.2.2) (c) only required if the paragraph is also labeled [MANDATORY] (d) a template the franchisee may adapt

2. When two sources of direction conflict, the correct priority order is: (a) Manual > FA > applicable law > job aids (b) applicable law > FA/MUDA/MSA > Manual > job aids/bulletins/training (c) FA > applicable law > Manual > job aids (d) all four are co-equal; the franchisee applies business judgment

3. A local utility requirement appears to conflict with a [MANDATORY] standard. The correct sequence of franchisee actions is: (a) implement the Manual standard; file an exception if the utility objects (b) comply with the utility, document the conflict, notify HiON immediately, file an exception under §1.2.6 (c) wait for HiON’s written approval before complying with either (d) escalate directly to Senior Management Referral

4. An exception request must include all of the following EXCEPT: (a) the specific Section and required standard that cannot be met (b) a risk assessment covering safety, accessibility, uptime, customer experience, brand, and compliance (c) the franchisee’s preferred response timeline from HiON (d) whether the exception is temporary or permanent

5. Same-Business-Day offboarding requirements include all of the following EXCEPT: (a) revocation of credentials to every HiON system (b) reclamation of physical copies of the Manual and HiON-branded devices (c) issuance of a non-disclosure agreement to the departing person (d) confirmation that any HiON data the person held locally has been deleted

6. A driver claims they were double-charged. The correct SEV classification is: (a) SEV 1 (b) SEV 2 (c) SEV 3 (d) SEV 4

7. The single point of authority to change a ticket’s severity, status, or resolution is: (a) the franchisee (b) HiON (c) the Designated Business Manager (d) the FBC by verbal direction

8. The notice period for a scheduled site audit is: (a) 5 Business Days (b) at least 10 Business Days (c) at least 15 Business Days (d) at HiON’s discretion with no minimum

9. A “Corrective Action Required” finding requires: (a) immediate cure with no documentation (b) a Corrective Action Plan submitted by the deadline in the audit report (typically 10 Business Days), with cure within the specified cure period (c) FBC sign-off before any action (d) optional response; only mandatory if HiON re-issues the finding

10. Skipping or short-circuiting the escalation ladder is: (a) acceptable when an FBC stalls for more than 5 Business Days (b) acceptable when the franchisee has retained counsel (c) a [MANDATORY] violation that may itself constitute a material breach (d) acceptable for SEV 3 driver-payment matters

11. During an active escalation over an MSA charge, the franchisee’s correct action is to: (a) withhold the disputed amount from the next ACH debit (b) continue paying every fee and meeting every operational obligation (c) pause all reporting until the dispute resolves (d) decline access to HiON service providers until the escalation closes

12. The Manual version the franchisee must operate from is: (a) the version supplied at initial onboarding (b) the most recent printed copy circulated internally (c) the current version on the Partner Portal (d) whichever version applies on the date of the underlying event

Application demonstration

A live tabletop exercise. The trainer presents an evolving scenario in three phases:

Phase 1 (10 min) — The incident: A driver pulls up to the DBM at 9:47 pm Saturday. The driver reports a session ended 30 minutes ago at $187 — twice the rate shown in the Tesla app at session start. The driver’s tone is escalating. While the DBM is talking to the driver, an Operations Lead radios that Post 3 is throwing an error code and the cable looks discolored at the connector. Two other drivers are watching.

The trainee must, in the next five minutes (simulated):

• Classify each event (SEV)
• State the right actions in order
• State the response language to the driver
• Open the right tickets with the right fields
• State who notifies whom

Phase 2 (10 min) — The follow-up: The next Monday, the SEV 3 ticket for the driver overcharge is still open. The driver has now sent a demand letter through counsel. The franchisee’s General Counsel wants to “go straight to arbitration.” Meanwhile, an unannounced site audit team arrives at the front of the bay during the conversation. The audit team identifies themselves and asks for the DBM.

The trainee must:

• Respond to the General Counsel re: escalation path
• Receive the audit team — opening meeting protocol
• Decide what is and is not disclosed to whom

Phase 3 (10 min) — The CAP and the resignation: The audit closes out with a Corrective Action Required finding on incomplete training acknowledgments. As the audit team leaves, the franchisee’s Marketing/Local Growth Lead resigns by email, citing the audit’s stress as the reason. She has Partner Portal credentials, a HiON-branded laptop, and a partial copy of §11 (Marketing) saved to Google Drive.

The trainee must:

• State the CAP elements that go into the response
• Execute the same-Business-Day offboarding
• State the audit-disclosure protocol for the Marketing Lead and for the Site Host who later asks how the audit went

Pass criteria: trainee correctly classifies every event; correctly invokes the escalation ladder without stage-jumping; correctly executes same-Business-Day offboarding; correctly responds to General Counsel and to Site Host; CAP elements complete. Citation of Section numbers preferred but not required if substantive actions are correct.

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Section 8 · Job aids

Job Aid 8.1 — Manual label decoder card

Front side: the five labels ([MANDATORY], [APPROVAL REQUIRED], [RECOMMENDED], [LOCAL-LAW DEPENDENT], [TEMPLATE]) with one-line definitions and a what to do column. Back side: the writing-conventions table (must/will/shall/may not = required; should/recommended/suggested/may = recommendation) with the “single sentence overrides paragraph tone” rule highlighted.

File: modules/M02-jobaids/M02-label-decoder.md

Job Aid 8.2 — Conflict priority + exception decision tree

Single-page flow. Start: “Two sources of direction conflict — apply this order.” Branches: law/AHJ → FA/MUDA/MSA → Manual → job aids. Sub-flow: if local law conflicts with Manual MANDATORY, the comply-document-notify-exception sequence.

File: modules/M02-jobaids/M02-conflict-priority-flow.md

Job Aid 8.3 — Exception request submittal checklist

The eight required elements of an exception request (§1.2.6) as a fillable checklist. Includes a sample completed request for a representative scenario (e.g., a local sign-height restriction in conflict with HiON wayfinding requirements).

File: modules/M02-jobaids/M02-exception-request-checklist.md

Job Aid 8.4 — Access log template + offboarding checklist

Two-part artifact. Part 1: an access log template (person, role, tier, date granted, date of last review, MFA enabled, signed acknowledgment on file, offboarding date). Part 2: a same-Business-Day offboarding checklist (revoke credentials across every HiON system; reclaim physical Manual and devices; confirm local data deletion with written acknowledgment; remove from shared mailboxes; record in access log).

File: modules/M02-jobaids/M02-access-log-and-offboarding.md

Job Aid 8.5 — SEV 1–5 classification card (full version)

Operator-grade pocket card. Each SEV: definition, examples, required franchisee actions in order, response-time target. The §3.2.4 ticket-required-fields list on the back. Includes the verbatim §3.2.4 prohibition on closing or reclassifying tickets.

File: modules/M02-jobaids/M02-sev-classification-card.md

Job Aid 8.6 — Ticket opening template

A pre-formatted ticket template with all eight §3.2.4 required fields, with placeholder text guiding the franchisee through what to capture for SEV 1, SEV 2, and SEV 3 specifically. Includes the SEV-3 driver-interaction script (“Billing is handled through the Tesla app…”) for immediate use.

File: modules/M02-jobaids/M02-ticket-template.md

Job Aid 8.7 — Audit readiness binder

A pre-organized records binder structure with one tab per typical audit-records request: Manual acknowledgments; training records; ticket history; insurance certificates; Sinking Fund statements; financial statements; lease agreements and Lease Addenda; vendor register; access log; CAPs. The trainee can hand the binder to an unannounced audit team without scrambling for documents.

File: modules/M02-jobaids/M02-audit-readiness-binder.md

Job Aid 8.8 — Corrective Action Plan template

The six §3.3.4 CAP elements as a fillable form. Includes guidance on root-cause-analysis depth, on framing preventative actions that survive the next audit, and on documenting the evidence to provide at cure.

File: modules/M02-jobaids/M02-cap-template.md

Job Aid 8.9 — Escalation ladder card

The five-stage §3.4.1 ladder on a single page: who, timeframe, how to invoke. Includes the three [MANDATORY] cooperation standards from §3.4.2. Includes the explicit reminder that operational and fee obligations continue throughout every stage.

File: modules/M02-jobaids/M02-escalation-ladder.md

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Section 9 · Facilitator notes

Pacing — 165 minutes (2h 45min, two 10-minute breaks built in)

Time	Section	Notes
0:00–0:10	Opening diagnostic	Distribute the §1.2.1 label table without explanation. Ask each trainee to identify, from a 10-line excerpt of the Manual, which sentences are required standards and which are recommendations. Most rooms will get 60–70% right. The variance justifies the module.
0:10–0:30	§4.1–4.2 (Labels, conventions, standards vs. procedures)	Use a live Manual page on screen. Highlight the “should-but-the-paragraph-is-[MANDATORY]” gotcha with a real example from §10.2 if available.
0:30–0:45	§4.3 (Conflict priority)	Drill 5.1 and 5.2 here. The conflict priority is the most useful concept in the module — the operator who internalizes it makes faster, more defensible decisions for the next 10 years.
0:45–1:05	§4.4 (Exception process)	Walk the eight required elements with a sample request projected. Distribute Job Aid 8.3. The trainee leaves with a real-world example they can imitate.
1:05–1:15	BREAK
1:15–1:35	§4.5 (Confidentiality + Access)	Drill 5.3 here. The same-Business-Day offboarding standard is the easiest [MANDATORY] to violate accidentally — the drill exists specifically to instill muscle memory.
1:35–1:45	§4.6 (Updates and version control)	Brief but [MANDATORY]-heavy. Distribute Job Aid 8.4 (access log + offboarding).
1:45–2:10	§4.7–4.8 (SEV system + ticket discipline)	Drill 5.4 and 5.6. The §3.2.4 prohibition on closing/reclassifying tickets is the rule the FBC will most often tempt the franchisee to violate verbally — Drill 5.6 exists specifically to instill the right response.
2:10–2:20	BREAK
2:20–2:40	§4.9 (Field audits + CAP discipline)	Drills 5.5 and 5.7. Distribute Job Aids 8.7 and 8.8. The audit readiness binder is the single highest-leverage artifact the franchisee can build — having it ready on Day 1 of operations cuts audit prep time from days to hours.
2:40–2:55	§4.10 (Escalation ladder)	Drill 5.8. Distribute Job Aid 8.9. The ladder is the franchisee’s protection. Internalize it.
2:55–3:00	Close	Confirm the trainee has the Section 7 knowledge check on the Partner Portal. The Application Demonstration is scheduled for the next session block.

SME handoffs

• §4.1–4.4 (Manual mechanics, exception process): Will Frank (Dev) delivers the structural content. Joe Lewis (COO) is the right SME on real-world examples of how exception requests have been processed.
• §4.5–4.6 (Confidentiality and Updates): Joe Lewis (COO) is the right SME — he holds the compliance posture across the franchisee base.
• §4.7–4.8 (SEV system, ticket discipline): Joe Frank (Ops) is the right SME — he runs the NOC interface and sees ticket quality data weekly.
• §4.9 (Field audits + CAPs): Joe Lewis (COO) leads. Tony Cuomo (CX) can speak to audit dimensions of brand execution.
• §4.10 (Escalation): Jim Frank (CEO) is the right SME on Stage 4 and Stage 5 dynamics — he holds the institutional view on what types of matters tend to require Senior Management Referral.
• Application Demonstration: Best run as a four-person tabletop with Jim, Joe Lewis, Joe Frank, and Tony each playing a distinct role (driver / counsel / auditor / Site Host). Maximum realism, maximum pressure.

Decision drill — model answers

Drill 5.1 — The “should” that bites. Response: decline the proposal. Cited basis: §1.2.2 (writing conventions — must/will/shall = required; should = recommendation). Even though §10.2.2 uses “should,” the surrounding §10.2 contains [MANDATORY] standards (e.g., §10.2.1 — payments flow through Tesla app only; no on-site pricing communication that contradicts the app). A chalkboard listing prices conflicts with the [MANDATORY] standard. Next two actions: confirm to the Operations Lead that the proposal is rejected and explain the §10.2 [MANDATORY] standard; if the Operations Lead has a genuine clarity problem to solve, propose an §1.2.6 exception or surface the suggestion to the FBC for consideration as a Manual update.

Drill 5.2 — Local AHJ conflict. Sequence per §1.2.5 then §1.2.6:

1. Comply with the AHJ — submit the permit with the AHJ-required placement (§1.2.5(a))
2. Document the conflict in writing (§1.2.5(b)) — citing the specific Manual Section that conflicts and the specific permit condition
3. Notify HiON immediately (§1.2.5(c)) — open a Partner Portal ticket under Engineering and Design Review on the same Business Day
4. File an exception request (§1.2.6) within the next Business Day with all eight required elements, marking the request as temporary (until the permit can be amended) or permanent (if amendment is not feasible)
5. Do not break ground on the bollards until HiON’s written exception approval is in hand (§1.2.6 [MANDATORY]). If the permit condition compels immediate deviation, notify HiON the same Business Day and file the exception within five Business Days.

Drill 5.3 — Friday-afternoon resignation. Before end-of-day Friday — same-Business-Day standard (§1.3 Procedures.C):

1. Revoke or disable the Operations Lead’s Partner Portal credentials immediately
2. Revoke any HiON-related access on the personal phone (remove the franchisee’s MFA tokens if installed; if the §9 Manual extract is in a personal cloud drive, instruct the Operations Lead to delete it and obtain written acknowledgment of deletion)
3. Arrange to collect the HiON-branded laptop, the cabinet enclosure keycard, and any physical Manual extract before the Operations Lead leaves the property
4. Remove the Operations Lead from all HiON-related shared mailboxes, messaging channels, and distribution lists
5. Record the offboarding in the access log: name, date, time, role tier, what was revoked, who confirmed The DBM being on vacation is not a defense. The franchisee is responsible. Notify the DBM by Partner Portal ticket so there is a record. If physical collection of materials extends past end-of-day, document the plan and the cure date — but credentials must be off before end-of-day Friday.

Drill 5.4 — Driver claiming 4× charge. SEV classification: SEV 3 (Customer/Payment) per §3.2.1. Cited basis: driver-facing payment issue raised to the franchisee. Response language (verbatim): “Billing is handled through the Tesla application — that’s the fastest path to a resolution on a session-charge issue like this. I’m going to log this interaction and open a ticket with our network team so they have a record on our end too. The Tesla app’s support flow is where the refund or correction will actually happen.” Next two actions:

1. Log the interaction in the customer-interaction log: date, time, driver-provided contact, claimed amount ($312 vs. ~$80), session start time per the driver, bank statement screenshot if the driver volunteers one (§10 + §15 retention)
2. Open a SEV 3 ticket in the Partner Portal within 1 Business Day per §3.2.2.C, including all eight §3.2.4 required fields. Do not confirm, deny, dispute, or promise a refund. Route the driver to the Tesla application support flow.

Drill 5.5 — Audit notice during launch week. Response: do not request to defer. Cited basis: §3.3.1 — scheduled site audit notice is the minimum (10 Business Days); unannounced audits can occur at any time anyway, and deferral requests do not appear among the cooperation obligations in §3.3.2. The audit cooperation standard is [MANDATORY] under §3.3.2. Franchisee’s next two actions:

1. Confirm the audit on the noticed date through the Partner Portal ticket
2. Pull out Job Aid 8.7 (Audit readiness binder). If the binder has been maintained correctly, audit prep is reviewing — not building. If it has not been maintained, the answer is the audit team finds the gap; the launch week intensity is not the auditor’s problem.

Drill 5.6 — FBC’s verbal reclassification. Response (to the FBC): “Got it — I’ll add a comment on the ticket noting that we agree it should drop to SEV 3. Can you reclassify it on your end?” Cited basis: §3.2.4 [MANDATORY] — “you must not close, cancel, or unilaterally reclassify a ticket. Only we may change a ticket’s severity, status, or resolution.” What the franchisee does on the ticket: add a comment in the Partner Portal — “FBC [name] on call [date/time] indicated this should be reclassified from SEV 2 to SEV 3 as a session-initiation issue rather than an outage. Requesting reclassification.” Do not close. Do not change the severity field. Wait for HiON to act on the ticket.

Drill 5.7 — Post-CAP recurrence. Most likely audit outcome: Material Default (§3.3.3) — a recurrent finding demonstrates a systemic issue. At minimum, a re-issued Corrective Action Required with elevated scrutiny; at the auditor’s discretion, escalated to Material Default given the prior cured finding has recurred. Next three actions:

1. Submit a new CAP (§3.3.4) — the root cause this time is the contractor’s deviation from the CAP’s specified preventative action; the immediate corrective action is reverting to HiON-approved striping vendor; the preventative action is removing the non-compliant contractor from the franchisee’s vendor register and the staffing roster’s contractor-supervision discipline (§14)
2. Open a Partner Portal ticket under Compliance and Risk acknowledging the recurrence and committing to the new CAP timeline
3. If the audit outcome is Material Default, follow the §3.4 escalation framework — do not stage-jump, do not pause operational obligations, preserve all records. The franchisee’s cure performance on the new CAP is what controls whether this becomes a default or a closeout.

Drill 5.8 — Escalation that wants to skip. Response to General Counsel (verbatim): “I hear you. We’re 17 Business Days in. Per §3.4.1 the escalation ladder is FBC at 5 BD, Functional Director at 10 BD post-FBC, then Senior Management Referral at 20 days of good-faith engagement before arbitration. Skipping is itself a material breach per §3.4.2. We’re at Stage 2 right now — let me check that we’ve actually invoked it formally.” Next two actions:

1. Verify in the ticket history that FBC escalation was formally invoked (ticket comment or scheduled FBC touchpoint per §3.4.1 Stage 2). If not invoked, invoke it now.
2. Calculate the Stage 3 trigger date (Functional Director escalation 10 BD after Stage 2 requested). Begin preparing the written Stage 3 request through the Partner Portal — referencing the prior ticket and FBC record — so the franchisee is ready to invoke Stage 3 the moment the trigger date arrives. Continue paying every fee, meeting every operational obligation, and routing every other matter through standard channels during the escalation (§3.4.2 [MANDATORY]).

Recommended visual aids

• The Manual’s §1.2.1 label table projected during 4.1
• A real exception request example projected during 4.4 (sourced from HiON’s actual exception archive — Joe Lewis has access)
• A live Partner Portal ticket queue during 4.7–4.8 (if facilitating in Kansas City)
• The §3.3.1 audit types table and §3.4.1 escalation ladder table projected during 4.9 and 4.10

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Section 10 · Cross-references

Modules

• M01 (System and Role Split) — prerequisite. The §3.1 single-point-of-contact principle introduced in M01 Section 4.5 is operationalized here in §3.2 (severity) and §3.4 (escalation).
• M03 (Brand Promise and Brand Execution — §2.2–§2.4) — brand-execution standards in §2.4 are audited under §3.3; brand-related findings drive CAPs from this Module’s discipline.
• M04–M07 (Build phases — §4–§7) — exception requests for site-specific design or AHJ conflicts originate during these phases and use §1.2.6 procedure from this Module.
• M09 (Staffing — §8) — DBM responsibilities (§8.1.2) include opening and managing support tickets and maintaining acknowledgment and training records, which is M02 discipline applied.
• M10 (Maintenance, Monitoring, Fault Escalation — §9) — every fault is classified by the §3.2 SEV system from this Module. M10 operationalizes the daily/weekly monitoring cadence and the seasonal readiness disciplines whose deviations open §3.2 tickets.
• M11 (Customer Experience — §10) — the §10.3.1 escalate-never-resolve principle uses the SEV 3 ticket discipline from this Module.
• M13 (Finance — §12) — the §12.2 no-offset rule reinforces the §3.4.2 [MANDATORY] standard that operational and fee obligations continue during escalation.
• M14 (Compliance, Safety, Insurance, Risk — §13) — incident reporting under §13.2 uses the SEV 1 ticket discipline from this Module. Audit cooperation aligns with §3.3 here.
• M15 (Lifecycle — §15) — transfer audits (§3.3.1) and renewal audits use this Module’s audit discipline; records retention obligations integrate with §15.6.

External documents

• Operations Manual §1 (Introduction, Manual Governance, Confidentiality, Updates, Glossary)
• Operations Manual §3 (Support Roles, Severity, Audits, Corrective Action and Dispute Escalation)
• Franchise Agreement — Audit Fee provisions, cure periods, default and termination, dispute-resolution and arbitration (Kansas City, Kansas)
• Master Services Agreement — senior-management referral process (20 days), JAMS arbitration mechanics
• Operations Manual Appendices A (Forms and Acknowledgments), G (Support, Escalation, and Audit)

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Section 11 · Source verification log

Claim	Manual / FA reference	Status
Five Manual labels and their meanings	§1.2.1	verified
Writing conventions (must/will/shall vs. should/may) and the single-sentence override rule	§1.2.2	verified (verbatim quoted in 4.1)
Standards vs. procedures — four conditions for alternative procedure	§1.2.3	verified
How compliance is measured (audit item, required evidence, metric)	§1.2.4	verified
Conflict priority — four-level hierarchy with law > FA > Manual > job aids	§1.2.5	verified
Local-law-vs-Manual sequence: comply / document / notify / exception	§1.2.5	verified
Exception process — when granted, when denied, eight required submittal elements, HiON’s response (5 BD acknowledgment, 20 BD decision)	§1.2.6	verified
Exception implementation requires written approval except where law/permit/utility compels deviation; in that case, notify same BD and file within 5 BD	§1.2.6 [MANDATORY]	verified
Exception-related records retention: Term + 3 years	§1.2 Required Standards Summary	verified
Confidentiality — five [MANDATORY] standards	§1.3 Required Standards	verified
Three access tiers and what each sees	§1.3 Access Tiers table	verified
Granting access procedure — signed acknowledgment, named-user accounts, MFA, access log	§1.3 Procedures.A	verified
Role-change procedure — re-evaluate within 5 BD	§1.3 Procedures.B	verified
Offboarding — same Business Day, five-step sequence	§1.3 Procedures.C	verified
Third-party requests for the Manual or HiON Confidential Information — decline + notify HiON within 1 BD + cooperate	§1.3 Procedures.D	verified
Manual updates — Partner Portal authoritative; 30 calendar days effective for non-safety-critical; immediate for safety/regulatory/network	§1.4	verified
SEV 1–5 definitions and examples	§3.2.1	verified (table reproduced from primary)
SEV 1 actions — 911 / safety / NOC voice / ticket within 30 min / preserve evidence / Incident Report within 24 hours / no public statements	§3.2.2.A	verified
SEV 2 actions — NOC Fault Escalation within 1 hour; no hardware remediation; provide access	§3.2.2.B	verified
SEV 3 actions — collect info but do not confirm/deny/promise refund; ticket within 1 BD; route driver to Tesla app	§3.2.2.C	verified
Response targets table (Acknowledgment / Initial plan / Update cadence) for SEV 1–5	§3.2.3	verified
Eight required ticket fields	§3.2.4	verified
Prohibition on franchisee closing/canceling/reclassifying tickets	§3.2.4 [MANDATORY]	verified (verbatim quote in 4.8)
External-communications discipline — no public SEV 1 statements without HiON written approval; notify HiON of regulator/law-enforcement/insurance/media contact within 1 BD	§3.2.5 [MANDATORY]	verified
Five audit types with cadence and notice periods	§3.3.1	verified
Four cooperation obligations under audit	§3.3.2 [MANDATORY]	verified
Audit Fee under FA for obstruction/delay	§3.3.2 references FA	referenced — FA primary needed for actual amount [CONFIRM]
Four audit outputs (Pass / Pass with observations / Corrective Action Required / Material Default)	§3.3.3	verified
CAP — six required elements, typically 10 BD to submit, cure within specified period	§3.3.4	verified
Failure to submit CAP on time or to cure on date may be material default	§3.3.4 [MANDATORY]	verified
Escalation ladder — 5-stage with named timeframes	§3.4.1	verified
Stage-skipping is itself a material breach	§3.4.2 [MANDATORY]	verified
Continued operation during escalation [MANDATORY]	§3.4.2	verified
Record preservation during escalation [MANDATORY]	§3.4.2	verified
Default categories listed	§3.4.3	referenced — FA primary controls actual conduct definitions and cure mechanics [CONFIRM]

Outstanding unverified items (require FA / MSA primary)

#	Claim	Primary source needed
M02.OUT.01	Audit Fee amount	FA
M02.OUT.02	Cure periods for various default categories	FA
M02.OUT.03	Senior Management Referral 20-day mechanic specifics	MSA
M02.OUT.04	Formal dispute resolution venue and procedure (Kansas City, KS arbitration mechanics)	FA + MSA
M02.OUT.05	Records retention specific periods where Manual defers to FA	FA + Manual §15.6

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Section 12 · Change log

Version	Date	Author	Changes
v0.1	2026-05-19	Claude (draft)	Initial draft. Drafted against Operations Manual v1.0 Working Draft (now available as primary source). All citations verified against the Manual. Five outstanding items defer to FA/MSA primary sources.