How Smokey Mountain Tops Improved Safety Training with Ving

Smokey Mountain Tops, a Knoxville-based manufacturer specializing in countertop fabrication and installation, faced a familiar challenge: keeping safety training consistent without disrupting production.

As General Manager, Jason DeBord supports every area of the business. But when it came to safety training, scheduling was a constant headache. “Maintaining a schedule for proper safety training [used to be tough],” Jason explains. Pulling employees off the floor for long group sessions disrupted operations and slowed productivity.

The company needed a smarter solution — one that would reduce workplace accidents, ensure consistent quality in installations, and keep projects on track.

The Challenge

Before Ving, Smokey Mountain Tops’ training process was:

• Inconsistent: Hard to schedule sessions across shifts.
  
  
• Time-consuming: Long in-person meetings interrupted production.
  
  
• Manager-driven: Supervisors had to chase employees to complete training.
  
  
• Low-engagement: Employees dreaded the process.
  
  

Jason knew they needed a flexible, digital approach. An introduction from their industry association, the ISFA Board, put Ving’s safety training software on his radar.

Onboarding & Adoption

Getting started with Ving was easier than Jason expected. “Much easier than anticipated!” he recalls.

Within days, Smokey Mountain Tops:

• Uploaded their employee roster.
  
  
• Assigned initial digital safety training modules.
  
  
• Set deadlines that fit around daily workloads.
  
  

Employees could now complete training on their own schedule — during breaks or slower production times — instead of halting entire crews.

At first, there was hesitation. But Jason notes, “After initial reluctance, everyone is much more comfortable with the technology.” Even less tech-savvy workers quickly adapted.

Managers also noticed immediate benefits. Ving provided:

• Real-time dashboards to track completions.
  
  
• Automated reminders so supervisors didn’t have to chase employees.
  
  
• Accountability at scale, with every worker clearly marked as complete or pending.
  
  

Jason summed it up best: “It’s not such a burden on managers to make sure their team did the correct things.”

Results & Impact

The results speak for themselves:

• 100% training completion rates within deadlines on Silica Dust training.
  
  
• 95 completions in one month, followed by 87 the next.
  
  
• Higher employee engagement — “People look forward to the training versus dreading it.”
  
  
• Time saved for managers, who no longer had to organize sessions or follow up manually.
  
  

With Ving, Smokey Mountain Tops achieved exactly what they wanted: safer workplaces, consistent work quality, and streamlined compliance tracking.

So effective, in fact, that they renewed their subscription after the first year — and now use Ving to onboard every new hire with consistent, high-quality safety training.

Celebrating Wins

When the team hit milestones, Smokey Mountain Tops sent out company-wide emails thanking employees for embracing the process. These simple recognitions reinforced the culture shift: training was no longer an obligation, but a shared win.

Advice for Other Companies

Jason encourages other manufacturers and fabricators to try Ving:

• Ease of implementation: Quick setup, no tech expertise required.
  
  
• Ease of management: Automated tracking and reminders save managers hours.
  
  
• Ready-to-use programs: A library of digital safety training modules at your fingertips.
  
  

“I am sure you think this is too much to implement, but it is easy and very functional,” Jason emphasizes.

Final Thoughts

For Smokey Mountain Tops, Ving transformed safety training from a dreaded chore into a streamlined, engaging process that delivers measurable ROI. They improved compliance, reduced accidents, and boosted productivity — all while saving managers valuable time.

👉 Want results like Smokey Mountain Tops? Explore Ving’s Safety Training Software and see how easy it is to modernize your training program.