A standard nobody has time to check is a suggestion
Written standards fail quietly. The document says every site is visited monthly, the rota says two area managers cover twenty-four sites, and the arithmetic says that was never going to happen. Sites learn which rules are actually checked, and the rest decay.
It is better to commit to six honest visits a year than to publish twelve and deliver five, because the gap between the stated standard and the real one is where cynicism starts.
Travel and paperwork are most of the cost
Managers plan around time on site and forget the rest. A three hour audit with a two hour round trip and an hour of write-up is a six hour commitment, so a full day covers one site and a bit.
That is why cutting travel by clustering visits geographically buys more coverage than shortening the audit itself, and does it without weakening the check.
If the numbers do not fit, change the shape of the visit
Not every check needs an area manager in a car. Split the standard: the things that need an outside eye get a visit, and the things that need doing daily get done by the site and evidenced with photos you can review from anywhere.
That usually turns an impossible schedule into a workable one without lowering the bar.