It could also mean their torque wrenches are not being properly calibrated and traced, and have become out of spec. Out of college I worked as a mechanical engineer at a torque testing firm. We made devices with high quality torque sensors which are calibrated against NIST certified weights every 3-6 months, and those sensors are supposed to be used to check every single torque wrench both before and after each work shift to ensure they are accurate. Someone could choose to ignore that process, if they were sloppily cutting costs.