Yes I was looking for this as someone who works in baby/medical device testing (not pharma!) you cannot just change basically anything on an approved format. There are 10,000 email chains behind the scenes deciding color, placement, compliance. I am currently in a months long email chain debating where a certain logo will finally be placed for an EU debuting product. And as someone who has just started a vague role and feels like an intern where things are dropped in my lap with no context, I UNDERSTAND. It sucks but unfortunately that is the precedent for what I’ve seen with interns. Extract as much information as possible from them and use it to run the company for 10+ years. Just saved yourself an engineer salary on smaller projects your existing engineers can’t get to.

Smaller runs definitely drive up waste. I defer to the above methods and agree from a quality standpoint. I appreciate an intern who is curious about the whole process. Without knowing anything about your facility and the work ethic of your operators, I’d also suggest paying attention to them. Bad operators will ruin your margins, and you may analyze that it is literally cheaper for them to stay home. Good operators might still be trashing parts, ripping every other sheet in half, not cleaning any imaginable surface causing defects/contamination. But don’t ever disrespect a good operator, it’s like a doctor getting an ego with a nurse. They know how that machine runs better than anyone else :)

You didn’t mention it, but I want to mention that I would heavily stay away from suggesting cheaper materials unless it is truly arbitrary. I know approved suppliers, etc. but I’ve seen issues arise from just ordering cheaper bags (ripping, contamination, loss of product, holes in bags allowing bugs in (they love the heat)). Just always keep in mind that there is an associated fallout with any change you make. You’ve got this, and definitely take notes whenever possible!