Smyrna employee background checking company e-VERIFILE.com, which is implementing a North American railroad employee security system, can also perform background checks for Georgia companies on potential new hires or contractors from any country, said e-VERIFILE president and founder Ravi Wijesinghe.

e-VERIFILE’s Internet-based background check program can manage online testing, score background investigations and issue identity badges for potential employees and contractors of any business.

The company was recently selected by a Canadian and U.S. railroad consortium to develop an industry-wide security and safety initiative that performs safety orientations, background screenings, credentialing and tracking of railroad contractors and their employees.

“Security is a global concern today. We have products that operate on a worldwide basis. Government plays a role, citizens play a role and corporations have responsibility for the protection of our infrastructure, both materials and people,” Dr. Wijesinghe told GlobalAtlanta in an interview.

“Background checking can be more problematic in some countries than in the U.S., so we have created an online system to standardize background checks,” said Dr. Wijesinghe, a Sri Lankan-American.  e-VERIFILE automates the tasks of online testing, scoring of background investigations and issuing identification badges, he explained.

Checks can be done on people from any country, but some countries provide better data than others on individuals, Dr. Wijesinghe said.

The e-VERIFILE system is already being used for background checks in the United States, Mexico and Spain and other European countries.

In the next 45-90 days, Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. are expected to implement e-RAILSAFE, an e-VERIFILE program specifically for performing background checks on railroad contractors to ensure better safety and security in the industry.

Class 1 railroads representing 93 percent of the railroads in the U.S. and Canada, including American rail lines Union Pacific Corp., Norfolk Southern Corp., CSX Corp., Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., already use the e-RAILSAFE program.

“There is a three to one ratio of contractors to employees in the U.S. and Canadian railroad industries, but there is no standardized security plan for property and how to validate people,” said Devon Wijesinghe, e-VERIFILE’s chief strategy officer.

Union Pacific, for example, has 30,000 employees but 90,000 on contract. This can present a safety challenge, he said.

“Railroads are critical infrastructure. These [Canadian and American] railroads are putting together their own cross-border program so, as an industry, they can head off problems,” he said.

The railroads have informed their contractors that they have to participate in the background check program. They upload their contractors and employees into the e-RAILSAFE system, submitting their names, dates of birth and photographs. Then e-VERIFILE does background investigations, looking at the contractors’ criminal history records and terrorist watch lists.

If an individual passes, he or she must take a contractor orientation test delivered online by e-RAILSAFE. The program then sends a request to Dr. Wijesinghe’s company to print a contractor badge that has a serial number, photograph and information about who the contracted employee is working for.

e-RAILSAFE is being used by Kansas City Southern, which owns Mexico’s largest rail line, so there could be an opportunity to implement the program in Mexico as well, Mr. Wijesinghe said.

“This could be a North America-wide program. But the business model is international,” he added.

The e-VERIFILE system can also be a key part of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s CT-PAT program that certifies shippers of freight across the U.S. border. Personnel background checks are required if a company is to become CT-PAT certified, allowing them to move freight more quickly across borders, Mr. Wijesinghe said.

Federal or state governments could also use e-VERIFILE for badging employees and contractors, he added.

Dr. and Mr. Wijesinghe, who are father and son, recently attended a NATO energy conference in Prague, Czech Republic, to talk with oil companies about the protection of oil sources and infrastructure using e-VERIFILE’s personnel checking system.

e-VERIFILE’s services are available only to companies, not individuals.

Contact Tony Cooper, e-VERIFILE’s director of marketing and communications, at (770) 859-9899 or tonyc@e-verifile.com for more information. Visit www.e-verifile.com.