GR&R for development?

I heard a funny request from my supervisor. He had wanted to perform a GR&R in development stage for any devices that are under qualification. I find this a bit wrong from a GR&R standpoint.

I believe that GR&R are equipment based and should be done for any equipment in a 6 or 12 month period to ensure that

1. Equipment are still able to measure accurately
2. The people handling these measurements are still well trained and have a standard set of measurement techniques

Why I say this is funny is wrong to perform for every device is that, we are effectively still using the same tools for measurement. It does not make any sense to perform it every time a product comes into development if the same set of tools are used. I would agree if it is development using a new set of purchased tools/equipments.

Do let me know your views and comments on this.