Shirley Yap
VP of Shell Deer Park andU.S. West Coast Manufacturing Shell
When Shirley Yap arrived at Shell's Deer Park, Texas, manufacturing site in mid-March, the COVID-19 pandemic was starting to take center stage in the U.S. Yap officially took on the role of vice president (VP) of Deer Park Manufacturing and U.S. West Coast Manufacturing on April 1, and was immediately thrust into a world of change.
"The pandemic has presented a number of challenges, and we've had to adapt our ways of working by having employees telecommute where possible. At the beginning, it also meant adopting new policies and procedures to ensure our employees had a safe place to work," Yap explained.
She said as a business, Shell and her site have needed to adapt to the reality of the pandemic and its effects on product consumption, while still remaining efficient and competitive.
"It's no secret the world is relatively idle compared to what it once was, and that's apparent in the consumption of some of the products we make," Yap said. "Do we see this as temporary? We do, but until the world enters the recovery phase from the pandemic, we'll continue to adapt the menu of products we deliver."
Even though continuing to be efficient is vital to the business side of things, Yap said the people of Shell are never second to profit.
"Above all, there's a human factor to this that cannot be ignored: a mental and physical toll that we watch extremely closely. Nothing we make here is more important than the health and safety of our workers," she emphasized.
Although Yap admits this isn't how she envisioned transitioning into her new roles, she said Shell Deer Park and Puget Sound Refinery have risen to the challenges and continue to operate safely. While she would prefer to have more frequent in-person contact with her team, Yap is proud of how employees have embraced the current reality and continue to care for each other individually.
Truly caring for each person at Shell is one reason the Deer Park site continues to have safe operations, Yap explained.
"Delivering a safe operation comes from a deep, disciplined desire to care for and ensure the safety of our people and the nearby communities," she said.
Shell Deer Park recently rolled out a new safety initiative called ACE, which is about having "armed, confident employees" who are equipped with the knowledge and confidence to initiate peer-to-peer safety interventions. There's no blame associated with the interventions, but it allows the site to collect data to see if it's trending in the right direction with safety performance. As Deer Park site employees and contractors complete ACE observations, Shell will make donations to Make-A-Wish Texas Gulf Coast & Louisiana with the goal of sponsoring a wish for a child in the Deer Park area in 2021.
"I'm really excited for this program and what it can do not only to continually improve our safety performance but also to support a child in our community," Yap said.
Bringing community value
Yap holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from UCLA and a Master of Science in chemical engineering from Northwestern University. Before becoming VP of Shell Deer Park, Yap held a variety of positions with Shell globally, including in technical engineering, refining operations, supply chain management, and strategy and portfolio management. Her career with Shell has taken her from Los Angeles to Washington state, England and now Texas.
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Shell Deer Park Manufacturing recently celebrated its 90th anniversary and has a longstanding relationship with the local community.
She is a board member of the East Harris County Manufacturers Association and was formerly on the advisory board for Catalyst, a global nonprofit working with leading companies to build workplaces that work better for women.
Yap is a strong supporter of the Society for Asian Scientists and Engineers, of which she is a former board member. She said a diverse, inclusive workforce is a key driver for a competitive business, and as a leader, she will continue to focus on furthering these discussions.
Shell has maintained a presence in the Deer Park area for many years, with Yap's site celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2019. Shell has had a longstanding community newsletter and a historic society that preserved much of the history of Deer Park. The records are currently being transferred to the University of Houston for digitization and will eventually be made available online for future generations to learn about Deer Park's, and potentially their own, genealogy.
"So much of the site and community history is intertwined," she said. "My goal is to continue to build on that relationship."
Shell is involved in several local activities, but one of Yap's favorites is the Strides for Schools Fun Run presented by the Deer Park site. She was able to participate in the event virtually in 2020, its 11th year. The run has raised over $1 million for Deer Park Education Foundation education grants since its inception.
The Deer Park site also stays active in the community by participating with the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region, the Deer Park Local Emergency Planning Committee and PetrochemWorks.
Yap said the East Harris County Manufacturers Association brings value in promoting the health, safety, security, environment and well-being of the industry, which is a primary reason the Shell site chooses to be involved. She also noted the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region works to grow and market a vibrant regional economy through economic development, which Shell believes is vital.
"As a whole, our industry brings value to society by creating energy, jobs and economic stability," she explained. "I feel it's important to have an external organization help tell these stories on behalf of our industry."
Focusing on the long term
Shell Deer Park completed the Big Block turnaround in 2019, the largest turnaround for Shell that year. Yap said turnarounds are an opportunity to make capital investments to improve process safety and reliability and leverage new growth opportunities. She said the Big Block turnaround was "a fantastic piece of work from our team."
In the coming years, Yap and the Deer Park team will continue to complete turnaround work. This includes a smaller turnaround in the chemicals plant during the fall of 2020, peaking at approximately 650 additional workers at the site split between day and night shifts.
With this recent turnaround, the site has had to incorporate extra precautions for COVID-19, which included telecommuting and reducing the amount of interactions across the site. All employees and contractors were required to answer health screening questions upon entering the facility, practice social distancing as much as possible, and wear cloth face coverings when outside their personal workspace or where social distancing could not be maintained. The site also increased cleaning and installed additional hand-washing and hand sanitizer stations throughout the facility to create easier access for employees and contractors. Transportation and lunch times and locations were also adjusted as needed.
Although the pandemic has created many challenges, Yap stressed it is important to look at the long-term picture and not be distracted by day-to-day problems.
"As societies grow and people pursue a higher quality of life, demand for more and cleaner energy will increase," she explained.
Shell believes investment in new oil and gas production is essential to meet society's ongoing energy demands. In addition, Shell is investing in more lower-carbon businesses, including electric vehicle charging, hydrogen, wind and solar to continue supporting its customers by supplying the energy they need as society transitions to a lower-carbon economy, Yap said.
"Our purpose is to provide more clean energy solutions by 'Powering Progress Together,'" she said.
