The MBA-brained focus on short term profits is a relatively recent development and was not nearly as prevalent back then.
Safety engineering is about as long-term a value as you can imagine, so it makes sense that it's one of the things being cut as companies move to focus almost exclusively on quarterly reports.
>> focus on short term profits is a relatively recent development and was not nearly as prevalent back then
That’s not true, nasa engaged in studies of its suppliers in the 60s to determine if their short term profit seeking was working well enough that it might encourage further capital investments from the private sector in supply chain companies, nasa wanted to make sure there was enough fat in what it paid suppliers to attract further investment but not so much to attract public scandal as to the disposal of public tax dollars.
But many of the same issues still exist, poorly defined requirements being the primary one.