The only areas that really seems to get a clean bill of health (or as much as can be assured) is the car, and commercial aviation industry, where competition ensures that work carried out is based on good practice engineering standards and quality.
As soon as you start going down the bespoke, low volume specialist projects (defence!) the lower the standard of management. Good engineers, of which there are many, are sidelined, over worked and pressurised into cutting corners. We then become totally reliant on their professionalism and integrity, to do the right thing, but there is a greater risk in working in this environment, as well as a greater risk of errors, mistakes and worse.