AsBest Makkelijk

Simplifying the removal of Asbestos for home owners, whilst raising awareness of the related risks and laws.

Most home owners have no idea just how dangerous asbestos is and just how common it can be found in your own home. On top of this, the process of removal is complex and full of strict regulation. AsBest Makkelijk is a conceptual digital tool for a well-known Dutch insurance company. It simplifies the removal process immensely and makes it more approachable for average home-owners.

Experience the prototype

CLIENT: Undisclosed

AGENCY: Freshheads

MY SCOPE – DESIGN STRATEGIST
– Design Strategy
– Interaction Design (UX / UI)
– Design Research
– Creative Business Design

The Deadly Wonder Material

Asbestos is a material that has been used for more than 4,000 years because of it’s fantastic material properties; most notably it’s fire resistance, flexibility and strength.

We really started using it at an industrial scale in the 19th century (starting in 1878 in Quebec), and only started to discover it’s toxicity in the early 1900s. Legislation to start banning it only started in the 1930s and to this day Asbestos is still used as a material.

Asbestos is a group of Silica materials that have long, hair-like structures called Asbestiform. Each hair has microscopic fibrils that can be released into the atmosphere through abrasion. These fibrils are easily inhaled and become lodged in your body. Due to the materials properties it almost never degrades and causes mesothelioma (cancer of your organ linings). Worldwide around 255.000 people die from asbestos per year. In Holland, this amount is between 900 and 1.300 deaths per year.

Hidden Danger

Asbestos is not only found in your roofing. It can be in anything from your kitchen appliances, to your flooring, or even in your car brakes. In holland around 70% of the homes contain asbestos to this day.

Most Dutch people don’t know any of this, and when confronted with it find it deeply shocking and demotivating. However, even with this knowledge the home-owners do not want take ownership of the problem; expecting it to be organised by someone else.

More details at www.asbestos.com

Hidden Danger

More details at www.asbestos.com

Looking for a solution

If you can figure out the process online you are allowed to do the asbestos removal yourself, but for most people this is not a smart option. In most cases you require a certified expert to do the removal. However, these experts are already overcapacity, and therefore expensive and time-consuming services.

The only support for this is a rather small subsidy from the government, which can only be requested after the lengthy asbestos removal process is complete. Because of this, research showed that most home-owners who wanted to take action were still looking for a package-solution to the problem.

AsBest Makkelijk

Our solution is a web application and campaign called ‘AsBest Makkelijk’, which is a play on words in Dutch that combines Asbestos (Asbest) with “Pretty Easy” (Best Makkelijk).

It creates awareness about the problems and deadlines, whilst simultaneously motivating home owners to take action on an easier, less burdened process. Lastly, it lowers the financial barriers that make it difficult to start in the first place.

AsBest Makkelijk

Our solution is a web application and campaign called ‘AsBest Makkelijk’, which is a play on words in Dutch that combines Asbestos (Asbest) with “Pretty Easy” (Best Makkelijk).

1. Create Awareness

Flyers are dealt out through the post to make people aware of the likelihood of asbestos in their home, with a call to action to our web application where they can request a free asbestos assessment. Flyers are a low threshold way to approach home-owners because it arrives at their house.

1. Create Awareness

2. Stimulate action

Rewards are hidden throughout the digital experience. Everything from step-by-step reward screens that thank you for choosing to make your home safer and greener, to discounts for every neighbour you involve in the removal campaign (viral campaign strategy).

2. Stimulate action

3. Easier to do, and less of a burden

Normally the process of removal is a lengthy, and complex, 7-step process. With AsBest Makkelijk we were able to simplify this down to a 2-step process with a visual overview of your progress. All the legal steps and documentation are automated, and the data gathered from our own (free) asbestos assessment is used to automatically request quotations from all local removal experts instantly.

3. Easier to do, and less of a burden

4. Pay it forward

The total costs can be spread over a period of time of your choice, making the financial burden more manageable. On top of this, the subsidy is always requested and automatically deducted from the total price (shown as a reward). We also encourage green choices with a financial reward. For example, replacing your roof tiles with solar-panels will earn you a 10% discount on the roof-tiles.

AsBest Makkelijk

AsBest Makkelijk

Simplifying the removal of Asbestos for home owners, whilst raising awareness of the related risks and laws.

The Deadly Wonder Material

Hidden Danger

Hidden Danger

Looking for a solution

AsBest Makkelijk

AsBest Makkelijk

1. Create Awareness

1. Create Awareness

2. Stimulate action

2. Stimulate action

3. Easier to do, and less of a burden

3. Easier to do, and less of a burden

4. Pay it forward

4. Pay it forward

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