I think you were correct. Ignoring the regs and requirements,for a minute,the tests to check the supply characteristics,are not onerous or particularly time consuming.
They can,on occasion,flag up issues,and lead us in other directions,sometimes directly concerned with safety,which is a primary reason for most of our governance.
I would hazard a guess,that the others on your course,giving you a hard time,were probably older,maybe considering themselves to have so much more experience,these tasks were unnecessary. They are wrong.
We can all shoe,a dead horse. It is probably easier.
But sooner or later,when we stick our hand out for payment,someone is going to ask if we checked...