In Magadan Oblast, a remote Arctic province in the Russian Far East, winter is the only time you can reliably transport goods and people for one simple reason: Trucks can cross the frozen rivers. In this frigid hinterland, Morrison Knudsen International needed to audit and update a $15 million industrial materials management database system for its client, a North American-Russian minerals-exploration joint venture (the first of its kind in the mining industry in post-Soviet Russia). The project involved multiple facets: a management information system, international logistics, and supply-chain management.
This complex project was hampered by the extreme climate – subzero temperatures, permafrost, and a long, dark winter – as well as the psychological impact of working in a remote camp environment. In addition, effectively combining the two cultures (American and Russian) and managing change proved to be intensely challenging. The Russian personnel on site believed they could operate autonomously by withholding information and sabotaging any changes. The primary issue? The procurement and materials management system was dysfunctional, to the point it was nearly worthless. Approximately 75% of the records in the inventory database contained inaccurate or missing information. This poorly maintained system was vital to purchasing and stocking spare parts and operational supplies. It was the heart of the mining operation and key to production. |
A team of experts would need to scrutinize every detail of the failed system. The team would need to overhaul the entire system and update the database – or scrap the system altogether and begin from scratch. All tasks would need to be complete before the team left. (It was spring, and the Arctic summer would arrive in a few short weeks.) The stakes were high. If left unfinished, production could halt for at least 9 months.
The vice president of Pacific Rim Operations personally selected Paula Ruffy to oversee the project team. Paula and her team painstakingly evaluated the system. They decided to overhaul the existing system and update every item in the database: every machine, every spare part, every conceivable supply this isolated mining operation required. Paula applied the Creating Process to arrive at a highly innovative, amazingly efficient approach. And she led a Herculean effort. Working nearly around the clock, the team rallied to redesign the complex supply-chain management system. They integrated procurement practices, developed systems for transit and customs processing, and incorporated comprehensive accounting controls for operational managers. Fueled by a clear goal and undaunted conviction, the team built trust and respect with their Russian counterparts. As the only Russian-speaking team member, Paula successfully trained Russian mining personnel in Western procurement and materials-management processes and accounting practices. Success! This extraordinary effort reaped remarkable results, laying the foundation for decades of profitable production. |
“Paula is an outstanding leader – highly intelligent and extremely adaptable to ever-changing project environments. Through her management efforts, she turned around a client’s serious problem, under seriously adverse conditions. Paula went into a very difficult project in an extremely remote region of Siberian Russia, several hundred miles from the nearest road. Paula showed a remarkable teaming effort that was essential with such a diverse, international group. Where most people would pale, Paula excelled.”
– Robert Dyer, VP, Pacific Rim Operations (Retired)Morrison-Knudsen International, Inc.
– Robert Dyer, VP, Pacific Rim Operations (Retired)Morrison-Knudsen International, Inc.
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Success Story #2
Paula Ruffy's insightful analysis and influential communication with leaders saves college $1million on enterprise-wide IT projects.
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One of the nation’s largest community colleges, the Salt Lake Community College provides degree programs and courses for thousands of students. Plus, this tax-funded institution oversees a statewide workforce training program. Due to her cross-functional skillset and interdisciplinary management experience, the college contracted with Paula Ruffy for several years on a variety of large projects, including overseeing critical aspects of complex, enterprise-wide software implementations. Paula’s key activities included business process analysis and implementation, interdepartmental integration, change management consulting, organizational communications consulting, and staff training and development.
In her first assignment, the revenue department manager who emerged as a central figure in a multi-million dollar Oracle software implementation contracted Paula to write business process procedures for his department. Soon, Paula and the manager recognized that a massive effort would be required to successfully roll out this state-of-the-industry software throughout the finance department – as well as implement modules in all other departments that relied on financial data. The manager expanded Paula’s scope of involvement, tapping her to collaborate with the software provider and to oversee and contribute to every facet of the implementation. Backed by an MBA, accounting skills, and a depth of IT capabilities, she had the right skillset and the insight to guide this challenging process and to team with leaders and employees throughout the organization. |
“Thank you for applying the hours and hours necessary to so thoroughly understand a process this complicated and far reachining...
It is essential that we improve turnaround... It sure appears this goal has been accomplished. Congratulations and thank you for your personal dedication to the improvement of our ... implementation and processes. ” – Kent Ferrel Comptroller, (Retired) Salt Lake Community College |
Paula played a critical role in coordinating and setting up processes, recommending innovative functional changes with the software vendor’s VP of development, guiding end-to-end batch processes, developing and delivering workshops for over 100 managers and staff members, providing one-on-one coaching to managers, and ensuring a timely and accurate implementation. Paula was given unprecedented access to run queries and reports to extract data and analyze information. In addition, she stepped up as the advocate for the college to ensure it received the full range of services it had purchased from the software vendor.
Critical to her approach, Paula left no stone unturned. Her goal was to ensure the college’s strategic goals were met and executed at the tactical level. This required a depth and breadth of perspective to see the whole picture. With this approach, Paula identified critical issues that had been overlooked and, more important, identified and handled distracting concerns that were irrelevant to the project’s success.
This was the case for another key Salt Lake Community College project. A manager hired her to conduct an independent feasibility study to address a specific need. Through her investigation, she uncovered a $500,000 proposal by a vendor to design-build a software system to meet that need – a proposal being championed by a high-level director at the college. The institution was in negotiations with this vendor, nearly ready to ink the contract for this expensive software solution. Paula’s thorough due diligence revealed that decision-makers were unaware of a $50,000 off-the-shelf program, which would meet their specific need and included additional attractive upgrades for their current system.
Committed to saving significant tax dollars, Paula tactfully yet rigorously brought this issue to light with the leadership team. In the end, the college purchased the $50,000 off-the-shelf program – instead of the $500,000 design-build software – and saved $450,000. This was only one of several cost-saving measures totaling over $1,000,000 that Paula realized for her client while at the same time preserving the college’s standards for quality and productivity.
Critical to her approach, Paula left no stone unturned. Her goal was to ensure the college’s strategic goals were met and executed at the tactical level. This required a depth and breadth of perspective to see the whole picture. With this approach, Paula identified critical issues that had been overlooked and, more important, identified and handled distracting concerns that were irrelevant to the project’s success.
This was the case for another key Salt Lake Community College project. A manager hired her to conduct an independent feasibility study to address a specific need. Through her investigation, she uncovered a $500,000 proposal by a vendor to design-build a software system to meet that need – a proposal being championed by a high-level director at the college. The institution was in negotiations with this vendor, nearly ready to ink the contract for this expensive software solution. Paula’s thorough due diligence revealed that decision-makers were unaware of a $50,000 off-the-shelf program, which would meet their specific need and included additional attractive upgrades for their current system.
Committed to saving significant tax dollars, Paula tactfully yet rigorously brought this issue to light with the leadership team. In the end, the college purchased the $50,000 off-the-shelf program – instead of the $500,000 design-build software – and saved $450,000. This was only one of several cost-saving measures totaling over $1,000,000 that Paula realized for her client while at the same time preserving the college’s standards for quality and productivity.