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GE iFIX alarm SMS: tag alarms on the on-call phone

GE iFIX alarm SMS reaches the operator on call once you add your Welco address to the alarm email iFIX already sends. A boost pump fails to start at 3 AM, and one text shows the group, the tag description, the value and the time. Your tag database and pictures stay exactly as they are.

Text me my iFIX alarmsBook a demo

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  • No change to tags or pictures
  • No modem at the SCADA node
  • No per-user fees

Works by email with

  • GE iFIX

Published:

A GE iFIX HMI screen with a WTP process mimic and an alarm summary: the row BP3_FTS, BOOST PUMP 3 FAIL TO START ALARM, appears ALM UNACK with priority HIGH above two acknowledged alarms. The email reaches Welco and the phone shows: “Welco: [WTP] Boost Pump 3 fail to start, ALM at 3:21 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Animation: a long GE iFIX alert email is trimmed into one short text: "Welco: [WTP] Boost Pump 3 fail to start, ALM at 3:21 AM. Reply STOP to opt out."

iFIX alarm callouts before and after Welco

The iFIX alarm email today

  • Tag alarms land in a shared mailbox that nobody opens after the day shift.
  • Texts sent to carrier addresses such as txt.att.net quietly stopped arriving.
  • Node, tag name, priority and event code come before the part that matters.
  • A restart of the SCADA node sends a long burst of mail at once.

With your Welco address added

  • The on-call operator gets the group, the description and the value.
  • Alerts-only numbers carry the text instead of a carrier gateway.
  • A trim rule keeps each tag alarm to one short line.
  • Flood limits turn a restart burst into a handful of texts.

Before you set up iFIX alarm texts

GE iFIX is the HMI and SCADA software (the screens and the system that watch a plant) many water plants and manufacturing plants run. Sites send iFIX alarm email in different ways, and a SCADA alarm text service like Welco only needs that email. It may come from a script on the SCADA node, an alarm notifier, or a reporting tool your integrator set up.

You need three things before you start.

  • An iFIX alarm email that someone receives today, even if it only goes to a shared mailbox.
  • A verified Welco account. Start free and verify your utility or company.
  • The operators who take call, ready to join from a Welco invite on their own phone and confirm with YES.

Set up iFIX alarm SMS in 5 steps

You won't touch iFIX tags or pictures. The change is in whatever sends the alarm email, and your SCADA tech or integrator can make it in one visit.

  1. Find the tool that sends iFIX alarm email

    Look at a recent alarm email. The From address and the wording tell you which script or notifier sent it. Your integrator's notes are the next place to check.

  2. Approve that From address in Welco

    Add the sender, such as ifix-alarms@plant.example.org, to your list of approved alarm senders. Welco refuses email from any address you haven't approved.

  3. Add your Welco address as a recipient

    In the script or notifier, add your Welco address next to the existing recipients. If it lists carrier addresses like 5551234567@txt.att.net, swap those out, since AT&T no longer delivers them.

  4. Send only the alarm groups you want texted

    If the tool can filter by alarm area or priority, keep texts to HIGH and CRITICAL. Otherwise, filter in Welco with an alarm rule that matches the group or the words in the description.

  5. Force one tag into alarm

    Pick a safe test tag and put it in alarm. Check the Welco feed for the email and the text. Use test mode for a silent trial if you'd rather not send a real text yet.

Get iFIX tag alarms on your phone this week

Add one recipient to your iFIX alarm email. Your tags and pictures stay as they are.

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

Text me my iFIX alarmsBook a demo

A chlorine residual alarm from iFIX

Analyzer alarms carry a value that matters. Welco keeps the value and drops the node name, the event code and the priority line.

Alert email from ifix-alarms@plant.example.org, subject “iFIX Alarm: WTP CL2_RES_LO”. Welco trims it to one text of 97 characters: “Welco: [WTP] Finished water chlorine residual LOW, 0.18 mg/L at 9:46 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Text received: Welco: [WTP] Finished water chlorine residual LOW, 0.18 mg/L at 9:46 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.

Characters192971 credit

Animation: the alert email "iFIX Alarm: WTP CL2_RES_LO" is trimmed into one text: "Welco: [WTP] Finished water chlorine residual LOW, 0.18 mg/L at 9:46 PM. Reply STOP to opt out."

Want shorter still? Our guide to trimming alarm wording shows which words to cut.

Make iFIX texts useful at 2 AM

Operators trust texts that only show up when they matter. These settings help.

  • Night alarms to one phone

    With on-call routing, alarms after the day shift go to the on-call operator. Daytime alarms can go to the plant lead instead.

  • A backup phone for the big ones

    Send CRITICAL alarms to the on-call operator and the chief operator together. Each phone gets the text once.

  • Leave the all-clear in email

    Some iFIX setups email both the alarm and its return to normal. A rule can drop any email whose event line shows OK, so a text always means a live alarm.

  • Quiet the burst after a restart

    When the SCADA node restarts, iFIX can report a long list of alarms at once. Flood control holds texts to a few, so the phone stays usable.

When an iFIX alarm doesn't text

Start at the plant end and work toward the phone.

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Frequently asked questions

Does iFIX need an add-on to send alarm texts through Welco?

Welco only needs an email. If your iFIX alarms already reach an inbox, the tool that sends them can send to your Welco address too. If no alarm email exists yet, your integrator can add one with a script or a notifier, then point it at Welco.

Will Welco change my iFIX project or touch the plant network?

No. Welco sits after the email, so your tag database, alarm areas and pictures stay the same. Nothing is installed on the SCADA node, and Welco never reaches into the plant network. The only change is a new recipient address on outgoing alarm mail.

Can each plant area text a different operator?

Yes. iFIX alarm emails usually name the group or area, such as WTP or a lift station. A Welco alarm rule can read that name and send the text to that area's operator. One alarm can also go to two or three phones.

If an operator replies to an iFIX text, is the alarm acknowledged?

No. The reply is emailed back to the alarm's sender, so a person reads it, not iFIX. Acknowledge the alarm at the iFIX alarm summary as you do today. If the sending address is a no-reply box, forward it to the operations mailbox.

Can the iFIX alarm email still go to our shared inbox too?

Yes. Keep the shared mailbox on the recipient list and add your Welco address beside it. The inbox keeps the full email for your records, and the operator gets the short text. You can also send the text to a second phone, so the chief operator sees it too.

Can we keep our autodialer while iFIX alarms go out as texts?

Yes. Run both while you build trust in the texts, then decide. Welco sends texts only, so keep a dialer if your permit asks for spoken callouts with acknowledgement. The WIN-911 alternative page compares the two approaches.

What does it cost to text iFIX alarms?

Welco adds no per-user, hardware or setup fees. A short alarm uses one message credit, and a long one uses more unless you trim it. Plans are on the pricing page.

Put your iFIX tag alarms on the on-call phone

One extra recipient on the alarm email is all iFIX needs.

Text me my iFIX alarmsBook a demo

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