EWE NETZ introduces CALIMA digital emergency system

The young Berlin-based startup CALIMA has reached another milestone in its history. After launching just last May, founders Tim Hautkappe, Katharina Hochmuth, and Michael Zerbin have now secured their first major client: EWE NETZ.

However, Tim Hautkappe and Katharina Hochmuth aren’t exactly newcomers to the security industry. With their app “KommGutHeim,” they’ve been helping women feel safer when they’re out and about since 2014. “We developed KommGutHeim when we were both still in college. Thanks to the media attention, companies kept reaching out to us, asking whether our app could also be used to protect their employees. And that’s how the idea for CALIMA was born,” says Katharina Hochmuth about the company’s origins.

The founders initially focused on the 8.5 million lone workers in Germany as their primary target group. “Lone work” refers to activities performed out of earshot and out of sight of other people. In emergency situations—such as a fall, an attack, or a medical emergency—there is no one on hand who could provide them with immediate assistance. Because of this problem, the DGUV (German Social Accident Insurance) has already introduced various regulations that require employers to ensure an effective rescue chain, particularly for people working alone. “However, many companies have so far lacked effective and affordable solutions to meet this obligation. In addition to the serious consequences for lone workers, they also run the risk of facing associated penalties,” explains Michael Zerbin. While so-called personal emergency signaling systems that ensure this protection already existed, they are impractical and expensive devices that employees must carry with them. For this reason, they have so far been used only in areas with critical hazards. “We wanted to harness digitalization for worker safety as well and offer a digital, intuitive, and affordable solution,” explains Tim Hautkappe, who is responsible for the technical implementation of the system. 

The startup struck a chord—and in less than a year has attracted customers from a wide variety of industries. These range from manufacturing, energy, and service companies to government agencies and healthcare providers. The utility company EWE NETZ has now also decided to use this new technology to protect its employees. “The safety of our employees is our top priority as a company. For this reason, we naturally want to take advantage of the opportunities offered by digitalization. CALIMA is a user-friendly and intuitive product. We are confident that it will protect our employees in the best possible way at all times,” explains Wiebke Karpa-Muhle, Chief Safety Officer at EWE NETZ. The company has been using the technology since January of this year.