Gentlemen,
I had a new GTC 6-1 with about 10 hours display a tight big end - squallared" now and then... I suppose she coulda' seized up and thrown a rod...
But speaking generally to the matter of safety, I would remark that policy is the primary matter. If the in-fact policy is to be safe, then the people associated tend to be safe - rules and procedures notwithstanding. This requires intent, and informed intelligence - and it's time-consuming, but it works (the Saint Louis Arch project's a good example). Contra-wise while procedures are a great help, simply following them can lead to serious loss, as the example of the British submarine Thetis (
http://www.rnsubmus.co.uk/general/losses.htm#thetis ) will show. (What is left out of the Thetis story is that the forward compartment crew had an officer that insisted on following procedure even when it should have been obvious that the tube was flooded - they had to force the torpedo-tube door with a pipe and a chain hoist!)
As to flywheels - I think that an Enterprise engine at Seabrook (nuclear plant) had a (steel) flywheel (9,000 pounds of flywheel) come loose back about 1980-something. Yup. Dangerous. (I think it was related to a cracked crank web.) As to open drives, chain, belt, shaft, all kinds - I see 'em all the time. Know your space and know your machinery, know your way out, stand clear, then Pay Attention and play "what if...". and then follow procedure.
As to "the law", both criminal and tort - these days anybody who doesn't understand that it's all political and simply follows the power and money trail is living in a fantasy - those giant tort judgments are almost always reversed or lowered dramatically on appeal. Ignorance is a defense - for some, depends on the money...
Lister CS types are modestly dangerous according to some views. My own view? Hummmm.... it depends on the place and the people and their attitude. I wouldn't run a 6-1 in a suburban garage with sheetrock and plywood walls, not for long anyway...not unless the machine was properly bolted to an independent foundation and was caged properly with OSHA compliant guards...I wouldn't store dynamite there either...
My foundation here is 6000 pounds of concrete - and the neighbors are 1/2 mile away.
Phaedrus