System risk is the totality of all safety risks to customers, employees, suppliers, and other third parties that arise due to system operations. To assess the risk of major hazards with the potential to cause fatality to the customers and other members of the public, quantitative risk assessment methodologies are used. This paper presents the general principles of risk based management approach to improve the safety of high risk systems such as aviation, railway, and nuclear power plants. For the suitable risk control arrangement, case studies of acceptable risk level, risk rating matrix, and safety management philosophy are presented.