We have no appearance criteria (and I mean color matching, surface roughness, etc) in our inspection process. We do inspection for surface defects (steel industry). So our guys are looking for gouges, pits, scratches, an so on. Since this is listed in the control plan, we do an attribute R&R. This like inspectors vision can deteriorate through the years, so i can kinda see why an auditor would want to verify an MSA is done. They're not too difficult, and it gives peace of mind. Our auditors have been looking at this for the last few years, even back into out TS certification days.
