A Systemic Safety Management System (SSMS) model has been developed. The SSMS aims to maintain risk within an acceptable range in the operations of any organization in a coherent way. This paper presents an application of the SSMS model to an oil and gas organization. Some features of the Piper field and Piper Alpha offshore platform have been used in order to illustrate some of the characteristics of the model. It is hoped that this approach will lead not only to more effective management of safety in the oil and gas industry, but also to more effective management of safety for any organization. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.