Introduction Most maintenance departments are implemented and improved as a result of the company’s growth. Subsequently, if the company chooses to adopt a Lean approach, it will adapt its production operations according to the specific principles and tools of that approach. Finally, once the production is Lean adapted, the company will reorganise its maintenance department to meet the principles of the Lean approach. On the other hand, what if a company already operates according to the Lean production approach before the creation of a maintenance department? The aim of this project is to develop a design and implementation model of a Lean-type maintenance department focused on occupational health and safety (OHS).

Methods As a first step, the approach was to establish a profile of the current situation of the company regarding the three key concepts of this study: Lean, OHS and maintenance. Some data collected are the testimonials of the company’s employees about these concepts. Participants went through semi-directed interviews. In addition, the employees performing maintenance tasks on equipment (operators performing basic routine maintenance and the others performing more advanced maintenance) were also observed in these maintenance tasks.

Result The results are a profile of the industrial partner drawn up according to a study of the frequency of the participants’ answers as well as the risk observation tables analysed according to a model developed by Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et sécurité du travail. The implementation model was developed according to the results obtained.

Discussion This case study focuses mainly on a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) in growth, as it corresponds to their background. Moreover, since not all SME’s can afford nor have the knowledge for such studies, this model will be a good starting point for similar firms and companies.