Some cultures allow mechanics (or in EASA world, engineers) to put stuff on MEL fully at their own authority, write the MEL reference in the logbook, release the airplane, and then do the additional paperwork/communication afterward. Works really well.

In the US, mechanics need to go through their initial evaluation, determine MEL is the right way to go, call maintenance control, wait for the guy at MCC to ask them if they tried everything they already tried, get approval for MEL, fill out the logbook, possibly enter the details into their computer system, and then release the airplane. A 5 minute delay for one airline is a 45 minute delay for another.