A Blockchain Smart Contract-Based Framework for Cross-Border Human Resource Certification in Engineering Consortia

The digital transformation of cross-border engineering consortia requires robust, scalable, and legally compliant systems for human resource (HR) certification. This study proposes a blockchain-based smart contract framework tailored for cross-border engineering collaborations, addressing critical challenges of multi-jurisdictional compliance, data security, and procedural inefficiency. Leveraging Hyperledger Fabric (a permissioned alliance chain), zk-SNARK (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge) protocols, IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) storage, and a dynamic contract engine, the framework integrates sovereign supervision, industry mutual recognition, and enterprise-level validation. Key components include a parameterized qualification matching algorithm, a credit score decay model, and a multilingual smart contract template library. Simulation based on a Southeast Asian high-speed rail project (with prototype validation in two active consortia) demonstrates significant performance improvements against a baseline of traditional paper-based authentication + diplomatic notarization (widely adopted in cross-border engineering): authentication cycles are shortened by 85.5% (from 47 to 6.8 days), cost per certification reduced by 93.7% (from $382 to $24), and qualification matching accuracy maintained at 92 - 94% (defined as consistency with expert manual review). The optimized Raft consensus mechanism (adapted for Hyperledger Fabric) strengthens trust among international nodes. Limitations of zk-SNARK (e.g., trusted setup risks) and scalability tradeoffs are acknowledged, with mitigation strategies proposed. This framework provides a scalable, secure, and legally adaptive model for digitized HR certification, offering substantial operational and regulatory value to cross-border infrastructure initiatives.