01
Ignition
Premier-tier expertise across 7.9, 8.1, and 8.3. Greenfield gateways, redundancy, alarming, security model, tag architecture — built to scale and documented to hand off.
Industrial automation · SCADA · data engineering
Ignition-first SCADA and data work for operators who need it done right.
Colorado-based, fully insured. Premier-tier Ignition expertise across Perspective, gateway scripting, cloud, data pipelines, APIs, and analytics — from a licensed water/wastewater operator who’s been on the other side of the screen.
- 8.3Ignition migration ready
- COLicensed water/wastewater operator
- 1099Subcontract or direct
Capabilities
Nine practice areas. One person. No bench cost.
02
Perspective
Operator-grade Perspective views. Responsive layouts, role-based session security, mobile-first dashboards, and Vision-to-Perspective migrations that preserve muscle memory.
03
Cloud
Hybrid cloud SCADA — on-prem gateway with cloud historian, MQTT brokers, remote tag providers, and disaster recovery patterns. AWS, Azure, GCP, and self-hosted.
04
Data Pipelines
OT-to-IT pipelines that don’t drop samples. Kafka, MQTT Sparkplug B, time-series ingest into Postgres / TimescaleDB / InfluxDB, with backfill and replay.
05
APIs
REST and WebSocket APIs over your historian and live tags. FastAPI / Django / Node, OpenAPI specs, auth that survives audits, rate limits that survive Tuesday morning.
06
Workflows
Operator workflows that actually fit shift patterns. Approval chains, work orders, mobile sign-off, e-signatures, and integration with your CMMS or ticketing.
07
Scripting
Gateway scripts, expression tags, gateway events, transaction groups, and Python-on-the-edge. Code reviewed, version controlled, tested — not buried in a project export.
08
Data Services
Historians, MES reporting, batch records, regulatory reporting (AWIA, EPA, state DOH). Clean data models that survive the next system you bolt onto them.
09
Data Analytics
BI dashboards, anomaly detection, predictive maintenance pilots, and the boring-but-vital stuff: KPI definitions your operations team will actually agree on.
Industries
Where the work lives.
Water & Wastewater
Licensed Colorado operator. AWIA-aligned cyber posture, alarm rationalization, SCADA modernization for districts that can’t hire a full-time automation engineer.
Oil & Gas
Production, gathering, and midstream Ignition deployments. Edge-of-network polling, MQTT over cellular, and historians that survive a backhoe.
Manufacturing
Discrete and process. OEE, downtime tracking, batch records, and the integrations between Ignition and the ERP/MES the plant manager actually checks.
Integrator Subcontract
Premier and Gold integrators: 1099 capacity for migration projects, project rescue, code review, and operator-facing handoff. No competitive risk.
Engagement
Three ways to work together.
Hourly
$150–$300/hour
Code review, troubleshooting, dashboard build, scripting. Weekly invoicing with timesheet. Subcontract or direct.
Fixed-fee project
Quoted to scope
Defined deliverable at risk. Migrations, greenfield builds, AWIA assessments. Project plan, testing, training, and acceptance.
Retainer
$1.5K–$5K/month
Reserved capacity. Quarterly health checks plus ad-hoc support. “Your SCADA expert on call.”
Mahaffey Automation LLC carries E&O ($1M), commercial general liability ($1M/$2M), and cyber liability. COI on request, named-additional-insured endorsements available.
About
I’m Trent Mahaffey. I run Mahaffey Automation out of New Castle, CO — a one-person shop with a deliberately narrow focus: Ignition SCADA, the data work that surrounds it, and the operations context to know what matters.
Most SCADA consultants are programmers with no operations background, or operators with no software depth. I’m both. I’ve been the licensed operator running the plant. I’ve also been the integrator writing the gateway scripts. When I quote a migration, I’m quoting from the perspective of someone who knows what it actually feels like at 3 a.m. when the SCADA goes dark.
Western Slope on-site without travel premiums. Front Range and DJ Basin remote. National via the integrator network.
Get in touch
Project, subcontract, or scoping call — reach out and I’ll respond same business day.