Skip to content
WelcoYour alerts, by text.

eMaint SMS alerts when a machine goes down

eMaint SMS alerts put a MACHINE DOWN request on the tech's phone while the line is still stopped. The tech reads which machine, what fault and which cell before anyone walks to the shop. Your eMaint system already emails each new work request. Add your Welco address to that notice, and urgent requests arrive as short texts.

Text me my machine-down requestsBook a demo

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

  • No change to how requests are filed
  • Text only MACHINE DOWN
  • No per-user fees

Works by email with

  • eMaint & CMMS

Published:

A maintenance board for Building B, Cell 4: Lathe 6 goes down with spindle overload fault and eMaint opens WR-28300, priority 1 · emergency. The email reaches Welco and the phone shows: “Welco: MACHINE DOWN, Lathe 6 spindle overload, will not reset. Bldg B Cell 4, 10:48 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Animation: a long eMaint alert email is trimmed into one short text: "Welco: MACHINE DOWN, Lathe 6 spindle overload, will not reset. Bldg B Cell 4, 10:48 PM. Reply STOP to opt out."

What changes for the maintenance crew

  • The tech knows the line is down

    A MACHINE DOWN request reaches the tech on the floor, not the next time someone checks the inbox.

  • Only urgent requests buzz

    PM reminders and parts orders stay in email. A rule texts down machines and nothing else.

  • Every shift has a phone

    Late requests go to the night tech, and daytime ones go to the planner and the day crew.

  • eMaint stays the record

    Requests, work orders and repair notes live in eMaint as before. The text only gets someone moving.

What you need for eMaint text alerts

eMaint is a CMMS, the software a plant uses to track repairs, work requests, and work orders. If it emails your team today, the hard part is done. Your eMaint admin can add the recipient in about 15 minutes, after Welco verifies your business.

Welco handles these notices like its other temperature and equipment alarm texts. The same steps cover sensor and data logger alarms and truck zone alerts.

  • An eMaint notice that emails new work requests or status changes. Your eMaint admin can tell you which one does.
  • A Welco account with your business verified. Start free to get your Welco address.
  • The techs and leads who answer urgent calls, each invited to join with their own cell phone. Each one confirms with a YES reply first.

Set up eMaint text alerts in 5 steps

You won't change how people submit requests. You only add one more place for the notice to go.

  1. Approve eMaint as a sender

    Copy the From address on a recent eMaint notice and add it to your trusted sender list. Notices from any other address won't become texts.

  2. Add your Welco address to the notice

    Find the notice that emails new work requests. Add your Welco address as a recipient, the same way you would add a supervisor.

  3. Text only the urgent requests

    Use a word-matching alert rule for MACHINE DOWN in the subject or body. A light out in the break room stays in email.

  4. Decide who hears that a machine is back

    A Back in service notice is good news. Send it to the supervisor and the production lead, or keep it in email so no tech is woken for it.

  5. Test with a practice request

    Turn on send-free test mode and submit a practice request on a spare asset. Check the sample text in Welco, then close the request in eMaint.

Get the next down machine on your phone

Sign up, verify your business, and add one recipient to your eMaint notice.

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

Text me my machine-down requestsBook a demo

Press 3 stops at 10:12 PM

Here is one second-shift stop at a small stamping plant, from the request to the restart.

  1. The shift lead files a MACHINE DOWN request

    MACHINE DOWN - Press 3 Hydraulic pressure low, ram will not return

  2. Welco matches the night rule

    The words MACHINE DOWN match. After 6 PM, these requests go to the night maintenance tech.

  3. The night tech's phone buzzes

    Welco: MACHINE DOWN, Press 3 hydraulic pressure low, ram won't return. Bldg A, 10:12 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.

  4. The tech is at the press

    They find a failed pump coupling, swap it from stock and log the repair in eMaint.

  5. Back in service goes to the supervisor

    A second rule texts the status change to the production supervisor only. The tech isn't pinged about their own fix.

Times are an example. Text delivery depends on mobile networks, and the work order is closed in eMaint as usual.

A Back in service notice as a text

When the repair is done, eMaint can email the status change. The production lead wants the short version, not the whole work order.

Alert email from notifications@cmms.example.com, subject “Work Order 48213 Status: Back in service”. Welco trims it to one text of 98 characters: “Welco: Back in service: Packaging Line 2 Conveyor, WO 48213 closed 1:35 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Text received: Welco: Back in service: Packaging Line 2 Conveyor, WO 48213 closed 1:35 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.

Characters293981 credit

Animation: the alert email "Work Order 48213 Status: Back in service" is trimmed into one text: "Welco: Back in service: Packaging Line 2 Conveyor, WO 48213 closed 1:35 PM. Reply STOP to opt out."

The repair notes and downtime stay in eMaint. The text tells the floor the line can run again.

Which eMaint notices to send as texts

A CMMS sends a lot of email. Text the notices that change what someone does in the next hour, and leave the rest in the inbox.

  • New emergency requests, such as MACHINE DOWN on a production asset. These go to the tech on shift.
  • Status changes to Back in service, for supervisors who plan the run around the repair.
  • Requests on one key asset, like a boiler or main compressor, even when the priority is lower.
  • Not these: preventive maintenance reminders, parts orders, and closed routine work orders. They read fine in email the next morning.

Shape eMaint texts around your shifts

A plant runs differently at 2 PM and 2 AM. Set Welco up to match.

If eMaint requests don't turn into texts

Look at the request first, then at Welco.

The request didn't say MACHINE DOWN

What to change
Someone picked another type or spelled it differently. Match a priority word like Emergency as well.

Nothing reached the Welco feed

What to change
Some request types send no email at all. Check the notice settings in eMaint.

The feed shows a refused email

What to change
Notices now come from a new address. Add it to your approved senders.

The request reached Welco but no phone

What to change
The tech never replied YES, or the number is a desk phone. Delivery reports explain which.

Frequently asked questions

Can eMaint text a technician when a machine goes down?

Yes. eMaint emails the request, and Welco turns that email into a text. Add your Welco address to the notice for new work requests, then set a rule that texts only MACHINE DOWN requests. Each tech confirms their phone with a YES reply first.

Can I keep routine work requests out of text messages?

Yes. An alert rule can match words in the subject or body, so only urgent requests become texts. Everything else still reaches email as it does today. Start with down machines, then add other request types if the crew asks for them.

Do techs need an app or an eMaint login to read the text?

No. It's an ordinary text that starts with Welco and shows the machine, the fault and the place. Techs need eMaint only to update the work order. Each one joins from an invite with their own phone.

Can a technician close a work order by replying to the text?

No. A reply to the text comes back as an email, not an update in eMaint. If the notice came from a no-reply address, that email goes nowhere useful. Close or update the work order in eMaint the way you do now.

Will Back in service updates also be sent as texts?

Only if you choose. Send them to supervisors who want to know the line is running, or keep them in email. A rule can match the words Back in service and send them to a different list of phones than down-machine requests.

Does this work with other CMMS tools besides eMaint?

Yes, as long as the CMMS can email a work request to an address you pick. Approve its sender, add your Welco address to its notices, and set a rule for urgent requests. The menu names change, but the steps stay the same.

What do eMaint machine-down texts cost a plant?

Welco has no per-user fees, so texting every shift's tech costs no more in seats. Each text uses message credits, and a trimmed request fits in one. The 7-day free trial includes 15 credits, with no charge until you approve a plan on the pricing page.

Put the next MACHINE DOWN request in the right hand

Add one recipient to your eMaint notice and choose which requests text.

Text me my machine-down requestsBook a demo

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