Caulfield Signals Sections 4102 and 4103 both attend Caulfield station on the same day, 14 times across the year, performing similar or identical work. On 13 August 2026, Section 4103's entire day is 3 point mechanism inspections at Caulfield — work that Section 4102 could absorb, since they are also at Caulfield that day doing the same job.
| Work Order | Work Group | Job | Equipment | Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02171318 | Caulfield 4102 | SP327 — Point Mechanism | Point Mechanism | 7 Aug — 19 Aug |
| 02171317 | Caulfield 4103 | SP327 — Point Mechanism | Point Mechanism | 7 Aug — 19 Aug |
| 02171319 | Caulfield 4103 | SP327 — Point Mechanism | Point Mechanism | 7 Aug — 19 Aug |
| 02171316 | Caulfield 4103 | SP327 — Point Mechanism | Point Mechanism | 7 Aug — 19 Aug |
All four work orders are SP327 — Electric WBS M Series Dual Control point mechanism inspection with identical tolerance windows.
On this day: - Section 4102 has a full 43-WO day across 5 locations (Hawksburn, Hughesdale, Murrumbeena, Oakleigh, and Caulfield). One of those 43 WOs is a point mechanism inspection at Caulfield. - Section 4103 has a 3-WO day — all point mechanism inspections at Caulfield. That is their entire workload for the day.
Section 4102 is already at Caulfield and already doing SP327. Adding 3 more point inspections to their day would bring them to 46 WOs — a heavy day but one that frees up Section 4103 entirely to be redeployed elsewhere.
This overlap at Caulfield occurs 14 times across the year — the highest frequency of any same-depot overlap location:
| Date | Groups | WOs | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 May | 4102 + 4103 | 6 | SP311, SP312, SP392 |
| 13 Jun | 4102 + 4103 | 8 | SP327, SP329 |
| 24 Jun | 4102 + 4103 | 12 | SP305, SP305A, SP311, SP312 |
| 10 Jul | 4102 + 4103 | 9 | SP209 |
| 24 Jul | 4102 + 4103 | 7 | SP209 |
| 26 Jul | 4102 + 4103 | 16 | SP392, SP393 |
| 31 Jul | 4102 + 4103 | 6 | SP209 |
| 2 Aug | 4102 + 4103 | 10 | SP216, SP392, SP393 |
| 10 Aug | 4102 + 4103 | 12 | SP392, SP393 |
| 13 Aug | 4102 + 4103 | 4 | SP327 |
| 14 Aug | 4102 + 4103 | 7 | SP305, SP311, SP312 |
| 22 Aug | 4102 + 4103 | 10 | SP311, SP312 |
| 29 Aug | 4102 + 4103 | 8 | SP311, SP312 |
| 5 Sep | 4102 + 4103 | 9 | SP311, SP312 |
On several of these days the combined WO count is high (12-16), which may justify two teams. But on at least 5 of the 14 days, the total is 4-7 WOs — easily manageable by one section.
Caulfield is a major junction where the Frankston, Dandenong/Pakenham, and Glen Waverley lines converge. It has a high density of assets — points, signals, train detection, and enclosures — managed by Sections 4101, 4102, and 4103.
The scheduling system assigns work to each section independently. Each section has its own set of assets at Caulfield, but because the maintenance cycles are similar (61-day point inspections, 183-day trainstop inspections, 366-day enclosure inspections), the midpoint scheduling creates regular collisions.
Both sections are fully capable of each other's work at Caulfield: - Section 4102 performs 21 different standard jobs across the year - Section 4103 performs 33 different standard jobs across the year - All jobs observed at Caulfield overlaps (SP209, SP305, SP311, SP312, SP327, SP329, SP392, SP393) are in both sections' capability profiles
This case study illustrates within-depot scheduling fragmentation:
Sections within the same depot are scheduled independently — the system does not check if another section from the same depot is already at the same location
Recurring pattern, not a one-off — 14 overlaps in one year at a single station shows this is a systemic scheduling behaviour
Low-WO overlap days are the clearest waste — on the 13 August example, one section's entire day is 3 WOs that the other section could absorb. That team could have been deployed to a different location
Caulfield is not unique — similar same-depot overlap patterns occur at Dandenong (28 days), Newport (28 days), Flinders Street E (30 days), and Ringwood (8 days)