In 2017, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) was experiencing significant maintenance cost blowouts due to excessive time and resources needed to extract seized ball studs on their Caterpillar haul truck fleet. The ball studs in the steering arms of these trucks had effectively become welded in position due to the harsh and dusty work environments. Removing them for routine maintenance required a lot of effort and posed a potential danger of damaging other steering components around the ball stud.