# Rewarding dishwasher duty with tokens

> 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.

**Sector:** Tertiary sector · **Industry:** Facility services · **Organisation:** AEB SE · **Maturity level:** Pilot

Canonical URL: https://www.sapientblock.com/en/use-cases/aeb-spuelmaschinenarbeit-token-belohnen

## Documentation status

- **Project status:** Pilot
- **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.

## Benefits

- Low-threshold testing of smart contracts without overall operational risk
- Opportunity for internal process automation in reward systems
- Practical knowledge building in handling distributed ledger technology
- Automated recording and rewarding of everyday duties
- Direct material or charitable remuneration for voluntary office tasks
- Simple, playful access to Web3 and crypto concepts

## Challenges

- Tax and accounting uncertainties regarding the issuance of internal company tokens
- Risk of misuse and incorrect entries without physical verification of the activity
- Effort required to set up and maintain private or public ledger infrastructures
- 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.

## Sources

- [AEB belohnt Mitarbeiter mit Kryptowährung für Ausräumen der Spülmaschine](https://www.aeb.com/media/docs/press-de/04-12-2018-pressemitteiung-dishwasher-blockchain.pdf)