A good rule of thumb for labs is to run a startup strip in the morning and a shutdown strip at the end of the day. If process quality is paramount in your lab, you can run more control strips throughout the day to monitor the process more closely. Check your aims for accuracy by rechecking aim calculations. Run another control strip to verify the accuracy of your control-strip plots. Yes, to some degree.
Reddish whites indicate oxidized color developer.
Flat colors with little image detail in the upper scale indicate a possible retained-silver problem. Yellow whites may indicate a marginal wash or a sulfurized bleach-fix. Tannish spots on the paper are an indication of silver sulfide deposits from the bleach-fix and wash racks. The amount of silver in each negative image ultimately determines the level of dye formation that occurs during the color developer step. For this reason, it is important to control the first developer time and temperature within very tight tolerances.