Like much of what drives the company today, the commitment to safety has deep roots. Pat Zachry had strict rules on the subject, and made it a point to take part in safety discussions whenever he visited a jobsite.

He also insisted on something that made a dramatic visual statement — clean equipment. As Senior Vice President Eddie Kreusal said at the time (this was the late 40s), “Other contractors didn’t do it, but we washed our equipment once a week. It was always clean and painted to comply with the boss’s motto that a clean job is a safe job.”

Close to 65 years later Carl Richardson, vp safety, health & environmental, reinforced the point. “At Zachry safety is a core business value and integral to our company… to put safety first in all that we do and accept no compromises.”

He went on to say, “This means doing what is right to protect our employees and not just merely complying with government safety standards.” This in turn means creating a culture where everyone feels responsible for their co-workers’ safety as well as their own — going beyond the call of duty for the safety of others.