We’re Going To Want Lots Of Online Delivery In The SARS-Cov2 Coronavirus Pandemic. Here’s How.

The shutdown of communal activity that comes with an epidemic has wreaked economic havoc. Fortunately, several new technologies are helping, including online videoconferencing, working from home, virtual classrooms and more. (Back in 2005, I outlined how these technologies could help us in the next pandemic, and advised that we do test runs to make sure we were ready. We didn’t.) There are other new technologies dawning today, such as AR remote assistance, telepresence robots and robotic delivery which we should get ready for the “next” next pandemic.

Online shopping, though, is already a well deployed technology. Some people already do most of their shopping online. As drivers for companies like Uber and Lyft find that work declining (and risky) they may find new work in the delivery business, and with a bit of work, that can be safe.

Shippers must define protocols

First, companies that pick and pack orders for delivery need to establish excellent disease protocols, train all their workers in those protocols, and supervise how well they are following the training. This starts with making sure that infected workers do not come to work at all, by making sure they have every incentive to quarantine and take paid time-off (which is a must) if they get symptoms. Eventually, they can get testing if the USA ever gets on the ball in that department.

Next, since some people without symptoms will still work, and some will even work in spite of symptoms, you want protocols to assure that goods and food that are prepared and packed are not infected. This includes very regular handwashing, frequently replaced gloves, no work by people with coughs, and strict rules over what is touched, particularly food , and particularly after it is cooked. We want to protect both the customer, and the delivery workers who will handle the package. It should leave in a package that has never been touched except by a clean glove that has only ever touched clean things, and not for very long.

All shipments should be put in a well taped box, so that it’s very unlikely that others who handle the box could contaminate the interior.

Companies should immediately publish their protocols, and as soon as possible, see if independent parties can certify that the protocols are good and being followed. Customers will be very keen to get confidence in this.

Full time delivery workers can also be held to good protocols — though they will never be perfect — and will be out on the job. But today, a lot of local delivery is done with gig workers.

Gig Delivery Workers

With gig workers, there are greater challenges. Those who work full time could have a system of paid time off, but it’s much more difficult to arrange that for intermittent workers, and really hard for people recently come to the job. It’s also hard to give them special training or to supervise them directly. They are, effectively random people signing up for intermittent work, and so one has to presume that a few will be infected (half of all cases don’t have symptoms in some age groups) and will not follow protocols perfectly, so there may be contamination on the outside of boxes.

Later in the epidemic, it will be possible to hire recovered patients who aren’t desperately needed at their main job to do some of this work. They are, we hope, immune to the disease, though there is research being done to confirm this. As immunes, they are just the people we need in important jobs, including handling things for the public.

When the delivery comes, the driver would just ring the door and step back, possibly wave from a distance. No signing for goods — a photo at the door can replace that. No need to pay in cash, of course.

Small deliveries can be put into plastic bins that are wiped down between use to prevent any cross contamination. Drivers can also be asked to wear cheap plastic gloves, which they change with every job. To enforce discipline on that, they can get two boxes of gloves of different colors, and be required to alternate them. Customers receiving deliveries can confirm the color is correct if they see the driver. They won’t always see the driver but the random chance of doing so will enforce the discipline.

Once it gets to your house

If a cardboard box arrives on the doorstep, a simple procedure is to put it somewhere for a day if it’s non-perishable goods, since reports suggest that the virus only survives on cardboard for a day However, it is sufficient to open the box, wash hands, remove the goods, dispose of the box and wash hands again, giving you no opportunity to touch your face by accident. One can also wipe down the box with disinfectant wipes. One can also wipe down the goods to account for any error by those who packed it.

While you can’t remove all risk of transmission on packaging, good protocols should make it safer than shopping in a crowded store, and of course the only option in a city where stores are closed or out of stock on what you need.

Yes, all of this involves having a lot of disposable packaging and gloves which is not great, but is fortunately a temporary measure.

Doing it all at scale

If there are major closings of almost all stores, as has been seen in China and Italy, truck delivery can be made to happen at scale and be safe. Thanks to our modern online infrastructure, people can order what they want. In a true emergency situation there might be standardized household emergency packages which are all very similar. A truck could drive down a street depositing the right box at every driveway that has an order, similar to the efficiency of the post office. People, stuck at home, would be ready at home to get the order from their driveway and get a notification on their phone well before it comes. It’s actually easier to enforce contamination protocols for a group of identical orders than it is when every order is customized.

In the not too distant future, delivery robots may be able to remove the risk for delivery drivers (and from delivery drivers) but there will still be issues with pick and pack.