SMS alert templates you can copy for alarms and on-call
These SMS alert templates help you write alarm texts that fit in one message and plan who gets them. Copy the wording into your system's alert email, or print the on-call sheet for the team. They work with Welco, and most of the advice holds for any alert texting.
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An alert email from genset@facility.example.com arrives. The Welco rule “Generator and power alarms, any hour” trims it, and On-call facilities lead gets one text: “Welco: [Main Bldg] Generator RUNNING, utility power lost at 4:07 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.”
On-call facilities lead received: Welco: [Main Bldg] Generator RUNNING, utility power lost at 4:07 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.
Who these templates are for
They are for the person who sets up alerts. That person has to make them readable at 3 AM, on a small screen, by someone half awake.
- Plant and facilities staff who can edit the alarm message in a SCADA or building system.
- IT admins who can change the subject line of a monitoring or job alert.
- Team leads who need a clear, shared list of who is on call and how to reach them.
Why alert texts go wrong
Most systems write alert emails for a desk screen, not a phone. The useful part is buried under headers, codes and footers.
Too long for one text
A plain text holds up to 160 characters. Past that, it splits into parts, and each part costs a credit. A wordy alarm can cost several times what it needs to. Every Welco text also carries Welco: at the start and an opt-out line at the end, which take about 30 of those characters.
Missing the one thing you need
Some alerts name a tag or a code but not the site. The person on call then has to log in just to learn where to drive.
Nobody is sure who is on call
The text reaches a phone, but the wrong one, or the right person is away. A written on-call contact sheet fixes that before it happens.
How to use the templates in 3 steps
Pick the template for your system
Open the alert message templates and find the group that matches your alarm, such as SCADA, IT or building.
Fill in your names and paste it in
Swap the parts in angle brackets for your own site, tag or host names. Paste the result into your system's alert subject or message field.
Send a test and read it on a phone
Turn on Welco test mode, trigger a test alarm and check the text in the feed. If it runs long, cut words, not facts.
Templates you can copy
Each template page has copy buttons and notes on how to adapt it. More writing tips are on our blog on alert texts.
Send your first one-text alert today
Write the alarm with a template, point the email at Welco and see it on your phone.
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What a well-written alert text looks like
Each of these follows the same pattern: where, what, how bad, and when. All fit in one text.
- Water: chlorine residual: Welco: [Plant 1] Chlorine residual LOW, 0.2 mg/L at 5:40 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.
- IT: firewall: Welco: [fw-hq-01] VPN tunnel DOWN to branch 4 at 10:18 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.
- Building: cold room: Welco: [Kitchen] Walk-in cooler 46F, above limit at 2:55 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.
Which template do you need?
Start from the job in front of you. Each row points to the template or guide that does it.
Make a long alarm email fit one text
- What you end up with
- A subject line with the site, fault, value and time
Agree who covers nights and weekends
- What you end up with
- One page with names, backups and cover hours
Decide which alarms deserve a text
- What you end up with
- A short list of text alarms, with the rest in email
Stop a power blip from sending dozens of texts
- What you end up with
- A few texts that name the cause, not a wall of them
Check why a text arrived in two parts
- What you end up with
- The character that split it, and how to fix it
The four parts of a good alert text
Read any alert out loud. If it answers these four questions in order, it works.
- Where: the site, building or host, in brackets at the start.
- What: the alarm in a few plain words, like
Pump 2 FAILorHost DOWN. - How bad: a value and its limit, or a word like HIGH, LOW or CRITICAL.
- When: the time, so a late reader knows how old it is.
Adapting a template to your kind of system
Each kind of system gives you a different amount of control over its alert wording. Here is where to start.
SCADA and plant alarms
Most SCADA and HMI software lets you build the alarm email from fields such as area, tag description and value. Put the area first and the description second. Leave out node names and alarm priorities unless the operator needs them.
IT monitoring and jobs
Monitoring tools usually let you edit the subject line. Make the subject a complete alert on its own: host, check, state and time. The body can stay long for the email record.
Building and temperature systems
Building systems often send a point name like AHU-3 RAT. Add a plain label next to it, such as the room or floor, so the person on call knows where to go.
Voicemail
Phone systems rarely let you change much. That's fine. Welco keeps the line, the caller and the length, and puts the recording behind a tap-to-listen link.
Common mistakes to avoid
These show up again and again when teams first move alarms to text. Each one is easy to fix once you spot it.
- Starting with the system name.
Alarm notification from SCADA serverwastes the first words the phone shows. - Using internal tag codes alone.
LT301_HHmeans something at the screen, but not to a tired reader. - Leaving out the time. A text read 20 minutes late needs to say when it happened.
- Texting the all-clear. Recovery and return-to-normal messages can stay in email, so phones only buzz for problems.
- Adding symbols or emoji for urgency. They make the text cost more and can split it in two.
Features that keep alert texts short
A few Welco features do the trimming and routing for you.
One-text alerts
Long alert emails are cut to the part that matters.
Alert rules
Choose which emails become texts, and for whom.
On-call routing
Send night alarms to the person on your contact sheet.
Several phones
One alert can reach the on-call person and a backup.
Frequently asked questions
Are these SMS alert templates free to use?
Where do I paste an alert template?
How short does an alert text need to be?
Welco: start and the opt-out line. Shorter texts cost less and are easier to read on a lock screen.What if my system can't change its alert wording?
Can different people get different versions of the same alert?
Can I remove the Welco label or the STOP line from a template?
Do I have to rewrite every alarm before I start?
Why does the on-call contact sheet matter if Welco routes alerts?
Turn a template into tonight's first alert text
Pick a template, paste it into your system and point the email at Welco.
7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing