Every day, Cesar Castro thinks about how he can do better.
As Haskell’s Safety Manager in the Philippines, Castro prioritizes serving others — whether he is grocery shopping for field staff stuck in quarantine or going above the call of duty to keep everyone on his project safe.
Castro is one of three Living the Values Award recipients for the first quarter of 2022, nominated by Senior Construction Manager Jacobo Salan.
“I work so that people feel good about what they do,” Castro said. “When you live the values, you develop a passion for what you do. There is nothing better than doing what you like. This generates excellent results.”
Castro, a Colombia native, joined Haskell in 2016 as a Project Safety Coordinator at the Barranquilla, Colombia, Temple. He was then promoted to Regional Safety Supervisor in the Philippines and currently serves as Safety Manager for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (JCLDS) program in Latin America and Asia Pacific.
Castro credits his parents’ training and his spiritual foundation as a believer in God for his willingness to serve others.
“In the Philippines, we work on the philosophy of ‘people first.’ There is nothing that works better than giving priority to the people. If you want to see results in safety, think about the people, give them the necessary tools, earn their trust, teach them, make them feel like an important part of the team and work so that they are recognized for what they do,” he said.
One of Castro’s favorite teaching tools is a ragdoll named Nestor. The rag doll bridges the communication barrier in the Philippines, where the workers mostly speak Tagalog in its 117 dialects.
Castro said they’d use Nestor to teach people in a playful, visual way about risks and consequences.
“This was undoubtedly the best strategy we have implemented for safety culture training,” he said.
The doll was named after the first assistant surveyor of the project in the Philippines, who was insecure because of his lack of safety knowledge. Castro recalled that in the space of two months, Nestor went from a team member who said, “I work without boots in the water to avoid dirtying them,” to a safety champion.
Safety transcends work barriers, Castro said, and is how each Haskell employee will benefit from “self-care as an added value.”
He is a committed husband and father. He and his wife, Paula Jimeno, who is a Haskell Project Superintendent, both joined the company in Colombia and have since moved to Mexico and the Philippines for different projects. Castro likes to ride his bike and play soccer video games with his son, Santiago.
“No one is more committed than Castro,” Salan said. “We are very grateful for his contributions and, most of all, the impact he has on all of the teams. He cares, he is genuine, hardworking and most of all, committed.”
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