Rewarding dishwasher duty with tokens
Sector: Tertiary sector · Industry: Facility services · Organisation: AEB SE · Maturity level: Pilot
AEB SE deployed an internal web application that allowed employees to report unloading a dishwasher and receive AEB Coins in return. Ethereum-based smart contracts managed the tokens, which employees could redeem for a canteen meal or donate to the AEB Foundation. The project served as an internal demonstrator for practical knowledge transfer; no long-term usage or impact data were published.
Documentation status
- Project status: Pilot (as of 04 December 2018) — Internal operational demonstrator, publicly described in 2018; no evidence of subsequent company-wide permanent operation.
- Evidence: Evidence medium
- Editorial review: pending
Description
With this demonstrator, AEB SE explored how tiresome duties in everyday office life could be tackled playfully using blockchain technology. Instead of fixed cleaning rotas, employees independently reported via a web interface when they had unloaded an office dishwasher. Smart contracts ensured the transparent distribution of bonus tokens that could be redeemed directly within the corporate environment.
In 2018, the IT company AEB SE designed an internal demonstrator to gather practical experience with the Ethereum blockchain and introduce employees to how smart contracts function. Via a custom-developed web application, staff could log unloading office dishwashers. The system then automatically transferred AEB Coins to the individual wallets of the participants. These tokens could either be exchanged for meals in the company canteen or donated directly to the company's own AEB Foundation for charitable purposes. Although technical feasibility was successfully demonstrated, the company did not publish any empirical evidence regarding a permanent rollout or long-term behavioural changes.
Perspectives
B2B — organisations perspective
For companies, the concept offers a blueprint for testing distributed ledger technologies in internal operations without business-critical risk. Linking operational office routines with bonus systems can serve as a reference for more complex operational incentive mechanisms.
Employees perspective
Through interacting with the web application, employees gained practical access to token transactions and wallets. Unpopular tasks were linked to tangible benefits such as canteen meals or donation opportunities.
Benefits
General
- Practical knowledge building in handling distributed ledger technology
- Automated recording and rewarding of everyday duties
B2B — organisations
- Low-threshold testing of smart contracts without overall operational risk
- Opportunity for internal process automation in reward systems
Employees
- Direct material or charitable remuneration for voluntary office tasks
- Simple, playful access to Web3 and crypto concepts
Challenges
General
- Risk of misuse and incorrect entries without physical verification of the activity
- Effort required to set up and maintain private or public ledger infrastructures
B2B — organisations
- Tax and accounting uncertainties regarding the issuance of internal company tokens
Employees
- Need for fundamental acceptance of digital wallets among the workforce
Technology foundation
Ethereum-based smart contracts for the automated issuance and accounting of internal bonus tokens (AEB Coins), connected to a web application for employees.
Implementation examples
AEB Coin for dishwasher care
Unpopular chores in everyday office life regularly led to full dishwashers, which is why a transparent incentive mechanism was to be combined with simultaneous blockchain training.
AEB SE developed a web app to reward kitchen chores with proprietary crypto tokens.
In 2018, AEB SE implemented an internal system where unloading dishwashers was rewarded with 'AEB Coins'. Processing took place via smart contracts on an Ethereum infrastructure, controlled via an internal web interface. The earned units could be used for canteen meals or donated to charity, with the project designed as an internal demonstrator.
Avoiding manual monitoring effort as well as overcoming reluctance to engage with decentralised technologies.
Tags
Tokenisation, Smart Contracts, Gamification, Facility Management, Employee Incentivisation