Practical Guidance.
Sourced Figures.

Flow Efficiency publishes practical, sourced guidance on cutting costs and improving efficiency in UK small businesses, and offers a small number of paid reviews for owners who want help with their own numbers.

Who We Are

What Flow Efficiency does

Large organisations have long used methods such as time and motion study, value stream mapping and lean to find waste. The guides on this site explain those methods in plain English, with worked examples and free tools, so a small business can apply them without hiring a consultant.

Every statistic links to an official or published source. Examples are labelled as examples. If a figure cannot be verified, it is not used.

Hands annotating printed figures beside a laptop

The founder

Carl Trigg

Founder, Flow Efficiency · BEng (Hons), Lean Six Sigma Green Belt

I'm Carl Trigg, founder of Flow Efficiency. I've spent nearly twenty years finding and fixing operational waste — from defence to automotive, manufacturing to storage, and education to the nuclear sector. The methods that save big companies millions rarely reach smaller businesses, and that's what I'm here to change.

Every engagement is delivered personally. That's a constraint, not a weakness — it means every client gets the same level of analysis, without the variability of a large team. It's also why I limit intake to 3 new engagements a month.

Our Methodology

Proven frameworks. Applied to SME reality.

The FLOW methodology draws on the most proven operational improvement frameworks in use across global business. We have adapted these frameworks specifically for the UK SME market — where the theory has always been sound but the delivery has historically been inaccessible due to cost and complexity.

LEAN Manufacturing Principles

Six Sigma Process Discipline

McKinsey-Style Structured Problem Solving

Theory of Constraints

Value Stream Mapping

These are not theoretical frameworks applied by consultants who have only ever worked in advisory. Every tool we use has been stress-tested across real operations — manufacturing floors, logistics depots, service businesses and trade contractors. We know what works at the SME level and what is academic overhead that adds cost without adding clarity.

Why We Work This Way

If we don't find the savings, you don't pay.

Every engagement we run is governed by a simple principle: if we don't find the savings, you don't pay. That guarantee is not a marketing line — it is how we operate. It means we only take on engagements we are confident we can deliver, and it means our incentive is entirely aligned with yours.

Diagnostic Assessment

Value Satisfaction Guarantee

"If after reading your report you don't feel you've received at least £599 of genuine, specific insight into your business — email us within 7 days for a full refund. No forms, no questions, no awkward conversations."

Sprint Audit

Deliverable Guarantee

"A complete, actionable findings report delivered within one week of our discovery call — or a full refund. No partial delivery accepted. No extensions without your agreement."

Full FLOW Audit

Savings Guarantee

"If we do not identify a minimum of £20,000 in annual savings — the audit is entirely free. No partial fees. No kill fee. Nothing."

Ready to get started?

Every engagement starts with the right entry point. The Diagnostic Assessment is the fastest way to get an independent view of your operation.

See Our Products → Book the Diagnostic Assessment →

Practical Guidance.Sourced Figures.