The tool was born from the surveys which formed their Workforce Related Project Risks report – which established six core areas of people risk: project appeal, recruitment, induction and onboarding, retention, reassignment and demobilisation.

QUT lead researcher for the project Dr Karen Becker said the online tool was successful in a preliminary trial with a large-scale trial underway.

"The online tool will enable project managers to pinpoint the particular workforce challenges that are likely to occur on a project, so they can develop strategies to deal with them," she said.

QUT researcher Michelle Smidt said the tool would enable development of an overall risk profile for each project.

“While risk analyses are often completed for workplace health and safety aspects of projects, we believe this is the first time a tool has been created to enable the development of the 'people risks' involved in all stages of a project," she said.

"The tool will help managers understand at what stages and why their 'red flag' challenges will occur."

Air Energi global LNG development director Matt Smith said Australia’s current LNG boom will last through to 2018 – meaning that attracting and retaining personnel has remained very competitive.

"The cost overruns and schedule delays being experienced in Australia's LNG sector currently are just as applicable to any industry and region where projects have capital-intensive and highly technical requirements,” he said.

“This is why it is so important that businesses take these lessons learned, and think differently about identifying and managing their people-related risks, particularly in large and complex projects."

The online tool is expected to be made available during the June quarter.