Each morning the day's delivery list is split into routes for the confirmed volunteer drivers, who get their stops on WhatsApp and tap delivered or not home at each door. A not-home tap prompts a welfare call from the duty social worker within 30 minutes.
Typical results
≈1.5 hrs
Coordinator time saved each morning on routes
≈180
Meals delivered daily with a stop-by-stop log
0
Not-home cases left unchecked at day's end
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
Around 180 seniors get a hot meal every weekday from 12 to 15 volunteer drivers. The coordinator spends two hours each morning rebuilding routes around who showed up, and drivers report problems by phone if they remember. When a senior doesn't answer the door, follow-up often waits until the next day, and a missed doorstep can mean a fall.
Before and after
Minutes to plan the day's routes
−75%Hours from a missed doorstep to a welfare call
−98%Deliveries with no recorded outcome per week
−95%The automation
Each morning the automation takes the day's delivery list from Google Sheets, with diet notes and door instructions, and splits it into routes by neighborhood and the number of drivers confirmed that day. Every driver gets a WhatsApp message with ordered stops and map links and taps delivered or not home at each door. A not-home tap alerts the duty social worker to call and log the outcome within 30 minutes, and unlogged checks escalate to the program manager.
How it works
- 01
Daily list read at 7 AM
Each morning the automation takes the day's delivery list from Google Sheets, with diet notes and door instructions for each senior.
- 02
Routes split by neighborhood
Stops are split into routes by neighborhood and by the number of volunteer drivers confirmed for that day, with the stops in driving order.
- 03
Each driver gets a WhatsApp run
Every driver gets a WhatsApp message with ordered stops, map links and door notes, and taps delivered or not home at each door.
- 04
Not home starts a welfare check
A not-home tap alerts the social worker on duty to call the senior or their emergency contact and log the outcome within 30 minutes.
- 05
Escalation and daily log
Checks not logged within 30 minutes escalate to the program manager, and the day closes with a delivery log for every stop.
Starts from
- Daily delivery list
- Confirmed volunteer drivers
Delivers
- WhatsApp route per driver
- Welfare call alert
- Daily delivery log
The impact
Not-home doorsteps get a welfare call logged within about 30 minutes instead of the next day, and escalation means none are left unchecked at day's end. Route planning drops from about two hours each morning to 30 minutes, and the daily log shows the outcome of all 180 deliveries.
Questions about this automation
How does a driver mark a stop delivered or not home?
After the route message, the driver gets one short WhatsApp message per stop with the map link, door notes and two buttons, delivered or not home. No app or login is needed. If a driver goes quiet mid-route, the coordinator sees which stops have no outcome yet and can call.
What happens after a not-home tap?
The social worker on duty gets an alert with the senior's phone, emergency contact and door notes, calls them and logs the outcome, such as safe and out, no answer, or emergency services called. If nothing is logged within 30 minutes, the program manager is alerted, and a no-answer outcome can prompt a home visit.
What does the program need to get started?
The delivery list in Google Sheets with addresses, diet notes and door instructions, a way for drivers to confirm the day's shift, and a WhatsApp business number. The program sets the neighborhoods, the duty social worker schedule and the escalation contacts. This is a multi-step build, usually rolled out in stages.