The point of sep assurance is for the controller to make separation occur, not just let it happen. Requirements, pegging speeds, interim levels instead of letting it run and monitoring. You could call it controller technique.
If I avoid a BOS by sheer dumb luck, by responding to a STCA alarm or by catching it just in time it's only one hole in the Swiss cheese away from a potential collision. It's only 30 seconds or a mile or two away from an accident. I'd call that worthy of investigation.
How is that grandstanding by boffins?