1) All applications go to an examiner after multiple automatic checks – i have a couple on my photo but the phone bloke doesn’t see a problem (one I have aged in 10 years!!)
2) No one goes straight to approved in a few days – examiners sign everything off
As far as I understand there is a process called the Digital Application Process, or DAP as they refer to it in their guides available online – all checks can be completed digitally and these go from docs received to approved without a processing status update. OK someone may press a button to approve it but the whole process is automated as far as I can tell. Mine was on the DAP route and went from docs received to approved in just over a week. It’s when the is a query on the application it drops into the manual processing route, where examiners get hands on – even requesting a call back can drop the application from the DAP route. So examiners signing off may be what happens but it may just be as simple as all the DAP checks coming back green and the examiner clicks OK.
This is born out by people who are on the processing route wait weeks for approval update, people who don’t get the processing update and go straight to approved don’t wait weeks – as in my case.