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AVEVA InTouch (formerly Wonderware) alarm SMS for Canadian plants

AVEVA InTouch (Wonderware) alarm SMS needs nothing more than an alarm email. Add your Welco address where InTouch, or a tool beside it, sends alarms now. If the feedwater tank hits LOW LOW on a January night, the standby operator reads the comment, level and time on their cellphone.

Text me my InTouch alarmsBook a demo

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  • No SMS add-on for InTouch
  • Windows and tags stay as they are
  • No per-user fees

Setup guide for

  • AVEVA InTouch

Published:

A AVEVA InTouch HMI screen with a Mixing process mimic and an alarm summary: the row Blender2_MotorOL, BLENDER 2 MOTOR OVERLOAD, appears UNACK_ALM with priority 100 above two acknowledged alarms. The email reaches Welco and the phone shows: “Welco: [Mixing] Blender 2 motor OVERLOAD, unacked at 2:47 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Animation: a long AVEVA InTouch alert email is trimmed into one short text: "Welco: [Mixing] Blender 2 motor OVERLOAD, unacked at 2:47 AM. Reply STOP to opt out."

Overnight InTouch alarms, before and after Welco

Alarms on a screen in an empty control room

  • Alarms sit in the InTouch alarm window until the day shift arrives at 7 a.m.
  • HMI emails sent to txt.bell.ca addresses stopped arriving when Bell closed the gateway.
  • State codes like UNACK_ALM and a node name crowd every message.
  • One process upset sends dozens of alarm emails inside a minute.

Alarms on the standby operator's cellphone

  • The standby operator reads the comment, the reading and the time.
  • Texts come from alerts-only numbers instead of a carrier gateway.
  • A trim rule turns each state code into one plain line.
  • Flood limits cap the texts, and InTouch still holds the full list.

How InTouch alarms get to email

If a system can send an email, Welco can turn it into SCADA and HMI alarm texts. This page covers AVEVA InTouch.

InTouch is an HMI, the screens operators use to watch a process and respond to alarms. Plants get alarm email out of it through a script, an AVEVA add-on, a reporting tool or a separate alarm notifier. Welco doesn't care which one. It needs the email and the items below.

  • An InTouch alarm email that already goes somewhere, or an integrator who can set one up.
  • A Welco account with your company verified. Start free and have your business number handy.
  • Your standby operators, each joined from a Welco invite on their own cellphone. Nobody gets an alarm until they confirm with YES.

Set up Wonderware InTouch alarm SMS in 5 steps

The change lives in the email or SMTP notification settings, either in InTouch or in the tool that sends your alarm email. Your integrator knows where to look, and it takes about half an hour.

  1. Work out what sends the alarm email

    Pull up a recent alarm email and check the From address and the wording. Those point you to the script or tool to change.

  2. Approve that sender in Welco

    Put the From address on Welco's sender allow list. Welco refuses email from any other address, so a stranger can't text your operators.

  3. Add your Welco address to the recipients

    In that tool's email or SMTP settings, add your Welco address. Leave the existing mailboxes in place so the full alarm stays on file.

  4. Send only alarms that need a person

    If the tool filters by alarm group or priority, pass along the urgent ones only. Otherwise, filter in Welco with an alarm rule.

  5. Try it on a safe alarm

    Force a test tag into alarm, then check the text and the Welco feed. A test run in Welco records the result without sending a real text.

Get the next InTouch alarm as a text

Add your Welco address wherever InTouch alarm email goes now.

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing

Text me my InTouch alarmsBook a demo

Sample boiler feedwater alarm, email and text

In a Canadian winter, a boiler house that loses feedwater can freeze lines across the plant. The email carries the raw state and the node name. The text keeps what the operator needs.

Alert email from hmi-alarms@plant.example.ca, subject “ALARM: FW_Tank_Lvl LOLO”. Welco trims it to one text of 90 characters: “Welco: [Boilers] Feedwater tank level LOW LOW, 11.8% at 11:52 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Text received: Welco: [Boilers] Feedwater tank level LOW LOW, 11.8% at 11:52 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.

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Animation: the alert email "ALARM: FW_Tank_Lvl LOLO" is trimmed into one text: "Welco: [Boilers] Feedwater tank level LOW LOW, 11.8% at 11:52 PM. Reply STOP to opt out."

These emails are samples. Your InTouch alarm wording may look different, and a one-text alert rule adapts to it. You'll find more plant examples under manufacturing alarm texts.

Tips for InTouch alarm texts

Most plants have far more alarms than people. Text the ones that need someone now.

  • Nights and weekends go to one phone

    On-call routing sends after-hours alarms to the standby operator. Weekday alarms can go to the control room lead instead.

  • Skip acknowledged alarms

    If the email also reports acknowledgments or returns to normal, a rule drops them. A text then always means a live alarm nobody has answered.

  • Rein in the burst after a trip

    A trip or a power bump can set off a flood of alarms all at once. Flood control holds each phone to a few texts.

  • Route by alarm group

    A rule can read the group, such as Mixing or Boilers, and text that area's operator first.

InTouch alarm didn't text?

Start on the plant side.

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Frequently asked questions

Does InTouch need an SMS add-on to send texts through Welco?

No SMS add-on is needed. You only need a way for InTouch alarms to leave as email. If you get InTouch alarm emails today, you're ready. If not, your integrator can add an email path, and Welco handles the rest.

Will Welco change our InTouch application or tags?

No. Welco never connects to InTouch or the plant network. It picks up the alarm email once it has left your network. Windows, tags and alarm groups stay untouched, and the only change is one recipient address.

Can each InTouch alarm group text a different person?

Yes. When the email names the group, such as Mixing or Boilers, a Welco rule reads it and texts that area's phone. One alarm can also go to two people, and each gets a single copy.

Can an operator acknowledge an InTouch alarm by replying to the text?

No. A reply goes back as an email to the alarm's sender, which is handy for saying who is heading in. The alarm is still acknowledged in InTouch. Point the sending address at a mailbox someone checks.

Our HMI emails used to go to txt.bell.ca. What changed?

Bell shut down its Text via Email gateway at the end of 2025, as its end-of-life FAQ confirms. Rogers and Fido users reported their gateway stopped around June 2023. Swap each carrier address for your Welco address. US phones face the same issue, as the Verizon vtext shutdown page explains.

How do we know an InTouch alarm text reached the operator?

Check the Welco feed. Per-phone delivery status shows whether each text was delivered, and why not in plain English if it wasn't. Final delivery depends on the carrier and coverage, so the full alarm email stays in your mailbox regardless.

What does it cost to text InTouch alarms?

Welco has no per-user fees, no setup fee and no hardware to buy. A short alarm uses one message credit, and long emails use more unless you trim them. Plans, priced in US dollars, are on the pricing page.

Put InTouch alarms on the standby operator's phone

Add your Welco address to the alarm email and test one tag before the next night shift.

Text me my InTouch alarmsBook a demo

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing