diff --git a/scripts/lib/inspection.js b/scripts/lib/inspection.js
index 43ed7046e..3f118f062 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/inspection.js
+++ b/scripts/lib/inspection.js
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ function detectPatterns(skillRuns, options = {}) {
     }
 
     const sortedRuns = [...group.runs].sort(
-      (a, b) => (b.createdAt || '').localeCompare(a.createdAt || '')
+      (a, b) => (Date.parse(b.createdAt) || 0) - (Date.parse(a.createdAt) || 0)
     );
 
     const firstSeen = sortedRuns[sortedRuns.length - 1].createdAt || null;
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ function detectPatterns(skillRuns, options = {}) {
   // Sort by count descending, then by lastSeen descending
   return patterns.sort((a, b) => {
     if (b.count !== a.count) return b.count - a.count;
-    return (b.lastSeen || '').localeCompare(a.lastSeen || '');
+    return (Date.parse(b.lastSeen) || 0) - (Date.parse(a.lastSeen) || 0);
   });
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/lib/inspection.test.js b/tests/lib/inspection.test.js
index 9005dad28..bca5ef284 100644
--- a/tests/lib/inspection.test.js
+++ b/tests/lib/inspection.test.js
@@ -212,6 +212,26 @@ async function runTests() {
     assert.strictEqual(patterns[0].runIds.length, 3);
   })) passed += 1; else failed += 1;
 
+  if (await test('detectPatterns orders ISO timestamps by their actual instants', async () => {
+    const older = '2026-03-15T04:00:00+04:00';
+    const newer = '2026-03-15T01:00:00Z';
+    const runs = [
+      makeSkillRun({ id: 'old', skillId: 'alpha', failureReason: 'error', createdAt: older }),
+      makeSkillRun({ id: 'new', skillId: 'alpha', failureReason: 'error', createdAt: newer }),
+      makeSkillRun({ id: 'b1', skillId: 'beta', failureReason: 'error', createdAt: '2026-03-15T10:15:00+10:00' }),
+      makeSkillRun({ id: 'b2', skillId: 'beta', failureReason: 'error', createdAt: '2026-03-15T10:30:00+10:00' }),
+      { ...makeSkillRun({ id: 'g1', skillId: 'gamma', failureReason: 'error' }), createdAt: null },
+      { ...makeSkillRun({ id: 'g2', skillId: 'gamma', failureReason: 'error' }), createdAt: null },
+    ];
+    const patterns = detectPatterns(runs, { threshold: 2 });
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(patterns.map(pattern => pattern.skillId), ['alpha', 'beta', 'gamma']);
+    assert.strictEqual(patterns[0].firstSeen, older);
+    assert.strictEqual(patterns[0].lastSeen, newer);
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(patterns[0].runIds, ['new', 'old']);
+    assert.strictEqual(patterns[2].firstSeen, null);
+    assert.strictEqual(patterns[2].lastSeen, null);
+  })) passed += 1; else failed += 1;
+
   if (await test('detectPatterns uses default threshold', async () => {
     const runs = Array.from({ length: DEFAULT_FAILURE_THRESHOLD }, (_, i) =>
       makeSkillRun({ id: `r${i}`, failureReason: 'permission denied' })