Purpose - In recent times, many organizations implementing total productive maintenance (TPM) have been failing in their attempts. Researchers attribute these failures to the shortcomings of TPM and of the implementing organizations. This paper aims to conduct a detailed study in order to understand these shortcomings and seeks to propose various solutions in the form of "best practices", which leads to the development of world-class maintenance systems (WMS). However, development of such alterative maintenance systems raises the following question: if an organization is planning to implement and improve their existing maintenance system then how can the manager make a decision between choosing alternative systems such as traditional maintenance systems, TPM and WMS? In the case of TPM or WMS, top management should be involved from the beginning to implement and follow up, as these decisions are complex and involve huge investment in the long term. Before starting implementation, top management should be convinced of the necessary justification, which requires analysis of various qualitative and quantitative factors apart from analyzing various tangible and intangible benefits. In such a situation, the conventional, financial justification techniques alone cannot be used. Design/methodology/approach - The paper attempts to demonstrate the use of a multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) model, namely, the analytic hierarchy constant sum method (AHCSM) for justification of WMS by analyzing the performance measures of an organization. Findings - The model showed that WMS is the best among the alternatives considered for the given circumstances. From the extensive analysis of the results from the model, implementing WMS would result in overall improvement in the performance of an organization. Practical implications - The paper attempts to provide an understanding about the TPM shortcomings, WMS and its characteristics, apart from describing the proposed framework in detail. In addition to this, the AHCSM model has been developed for the justification of WMS and the algorithm for the same has been described in a step-by-step manner. It is believed that this MADM model will be useful for managers to supplement their strategic decisions. Originality/value - According to the authors' knowledge, there has been so far no paper in the literature which has demonstrated the application of AHCSM in the field of maintenance management. © 2009 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.