Interview with Elena Mauro

Italian Elena Mauro studied at the university of Eindhoven (the Netherlands) and joined Yokogawa at the beginning of 2007. As a system engineer she is involved in the development of software for Yokogawa control systems. About her job Elena says: “the control systems of Yokogawa are widely used in the oil and gas industry as well as in many other environments where a process fault could have disastrous consequences. It’s my job to develop emergency shutdown systems that enable the control system to safely shut down the process or parts of the process in case of emergencies”



Working on these systems is a responsible job. They are a determining factor for the safety of a plant or process environment. How does that feel? Elena: “It’s inspiring to develop a system that aims at guaranteeing the safety of people and assets. But it’s also a challenging job with a lot of responsibilities. The system not only has to guarantee the safety of people and assets but also has to fulfill the customer’s requirements.

What I do, has to be done well. That is challenging but also stressful at times. Especially when you are close to the end of a project and many things still have to be done. Nevertheless, it’s very satisfying if the final result meets the expectations and requirements of the customer.”

Elena’s job as a system engineer involves working with many international colleagues and customers. “It’s interesting to work with people from various technical backgrounds. With some of them you discuss specific technical details; others you have to explain what an emergency shutdown system is. There are also many cultural differences between the people I work with. All and all, it makes my job interesting. I am curious by nature and very open to other cultures. My job enables me to learn a lot about other people and their cultures. I consider that to be very enriching for my personal development. Yokogawa stimulates me to explore my own possibilities. Ever since the start of my career at Yokogawa it has been this way. For example, only a few months after joining Yokogawa I was sent to Germany for a commissioning project. It was a challenging and responsible job, but I managed. Yokogawa enables people to bring out the best in themselves!”
Elena Mauro