Manufacturing plants in Nigeria face challenges related to inefficiencies that impact both operational costs and environmental sustainability. A multilevel regression model was employed to analyse data from multiple Nigerian manufacturing plants. The study aimed to incorporate both individual and organisational-level factors into the analysis. The multilevel model revealed significant differences in cost-effectiveness across different plant types, with a coefficient of determination (R²) of approximately 0.75 indicating substantial explanatory power. This study provides evidence that multilevel regression analysis can effectively measure and compare manufacturing systems' cost-effectiveness in Nigeria. Managers should consider implementing the identified best practices to enhance their plants’ efficiency, thus reducing costs and improving sustainability. manufacturing plants, cost-effectiveness, multilevel regression, Nigerian context The maintenance outcome was modelled as $Y_{it}=\beta_0+\beta_1X_{it}+u_i+\varepsilon_{it}$, with robustness checked using heteroskedasticity-consistent errors.