Norwest’s Feature Friday: Tim Murphy
At Norwest, we are extremely fortunate to have an amazing team. To honor them, we have created a program to feature one member of our staff each month for our website news column. This month’s Featured Employee is Tim Murphy.
Tim is a very talented project manager and controls engineer who brings a valuable, owner/operator’s perspective to Norwest’s projects from his previous roles working inside chemical plants. In speaking with his supervisors, I learned that Tim strongly demonstrates Norwest’s core value of “Taking Ownership” in everything he does. Andrew Steiner emphasizes Tim’s dedication to a project and answers firmly, “Ownership. He never shies away from jumping in to manage a project and does well when following up with the client, as well as coordinating with the project team internally.” Chris Stine reiterates, “(Tim) is always open for new challenges and taking on projects outside of his wheelhouse (and sometimes projects that are outside of Norwest's typical wheelhouse). I feel that ‘Taking Ownership’ is the core value Tim embodies the most. When he takes on a project, I know he sees it as his responsibility to do everything he can to push the project forward in a way that he feels is best for the client.”
Chelsea (C): "Hi Tim! Thank you for getting together with me over Teams today. I’m looking forward to getting to know you better and I always like to start by getting a little more information about your background and what brought you to Norwest."
Tim (T): "I worked at Dyno Nobel since I had moved to Oregon and came to Norwest in 2015. I had worked with Brian (Kaiser) and Chris (Stine) while I was at Dyno and reached out directly to Brian when I was thinking about making a change."
(C): "What drew you to Norwest and made you want to reach out to Brian directly?"
(T): "I had worked with him in the past and I really liked him. I thought he had a good head and made me feel really comfortable. When I was looking through the website it said to directly reach out to Randy (Miller) and so that’s what I did."
(C): "You mentioned that you’re not originally from Oregon. Where did you go to school and what brought you out here?"
(T): "I’m originally from Iowa. I went to Iowa State University. When I graduated with my degree in Chemical Engineering, I got a job at an ammonia plant in Fort Dodge. I worked there till 2011 and then was ready for a change. I wanted something more fun and in a better city. Portland offered a better living situation and quality of life."
(C): "It sounds like your background is more on the operator side. What’s the biggest change you found when you came over to Norwest?"
(T): "I had spent 8 years in the field every day and so the biggest difference was sitting at a desk all day. It was good though. It allows you the focus and energy to conceptualize the required higher level of detail for what we do."
"My value add was being able to look at things from a plant standpoint. I feel like I provide that practical experience. The mix of conceptual with practical."
(C): "Was the transition challenging for you?"
(T): "Yeah, it was but it was good. My value add was being able to look at things from a plant standpoint. I feel like I provide that practical experience. The mix of conceptual with practical."
(C): "Interesting. I would agree that the practical element is really important to our clients and a big part of why we have so much repeat business. What would you say is your favorite part of working with Norwest?"
(T): "I like the people I work with. Norwest has a lot experienced engineers with lots of different areas of expertise. I like that I can be a piece of that puzzle. Having those pieces makes a project outcome as successful as possible."
(C): "Can you expand on how you see all those pieces making success?"
(T): "Sure. Yeah it’s the collaborative effort. Getting together and chatting about a tricky problem. It’s being able to reach outside of our particular group that helps really get things done."
(C): "Agreed. And I know that part of what I love about Norwest is how much we all work together. Now, this brings me to one of my favorite questions; What Norwest value do you feel you embody the most and why?"
(T): "I would have to say Teamwork and Communication. None of us can do anything by ourselves. I like being able to coordinate everything together timely and successfully. You can’t paint everyone with the same brush and it takes a lot of communication working with a large group full of different personalities and skill sets. Some folks you can just let loose with a piece of the project and a deadline, while others need a holistic view and work better at painting the whole picture. You need to show them not only what you need, but why."
(C): "That is a great way to put it and a unique skill that I’m sure comes in handy as a Project Manager. Have you noticed any challenges with communication while we have all been working from home?"
(T): "Not really. It still requires lots of checking in and needs some organization. There is more diligence required and more patience but that’s more about adaptability than anything else."
(C): "I noticed that some of the Norwest folks have really decked out their home office with the current situation. Have you made any upgrades?"
(T): "I brought my standing desk home from the office and the dog and 2 cats were really excited at first but that excitement has worn off. Now they are all sleeping in the other room."
(C): "Awe! When you aren’t hard at work what’s something you like to do outside of the (home) office?"
(T): "I really like to play basketball and was playing every Wednesday. I also have a hybrid bike that I used to ride around town."
(C): "Basketball? Do you and Roy Kim ever connect on the sport? Apparently, he is a massive fan."
(T): "No. I actually didn’t even know he was a fan until (Roy Kim’s Featured Employee) article."
“Norwest has a lot experienced engineers with lots of different areas of expertise. I like that I can be a piece of that puzzle."
(C): "Well now that we know there are so many sports fans on the team maybe we can have a Norwest sports outing! This sadly brings us to the end of our chat but one of my favorite questions. What is something the rest of the team might not guess about you? "
(T): "Hmmmmm no idea. I tried and failed to ride my bike from Vancouver BC to Portland with no training."
(C): "Wait. What? Was it an organized event? Did you make it?"
(T): "No I did not make it at all. I had to catch a train in Seattle. It wasn’t organized at all. Some buddies of mine had some time off and had done bike tours and thought it would be fun. I overestimated my ability and underestimated the ride. The longest I had ever ridden was about 8 miles a day and this was going to be 100-200 miles a day. On the end of day 3, I forfeited."
(C): "Would you try it again?"
(T): "I wouldn’t do it without training again."
(C): "I think that is probably wise. Is there anything you would like to add before we end?"
(T): "Not really, just that we work with a pretty good group of people and I’m happy to go to work every day. I’m still very happy I made the change and came to Norwest."
Interview by
Chelsea Bracken
Business Development - Southwest
For work inquiries:
Norwest Engineering, Inc.
P: 909.702.0976
E: cbracken@norwestengineering.com
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