diff --git a/src/rtgs_lab_tools/device_monitoring/scheduled_device_monitoring.sh b/src/rtgs_lab_tools/device_monitoring/scheduled_device_monitoring.sh
index 2ef11829..1c419dcf 100755
--- a/src/rtgs_lab_tools/device_monitoring/scheduled_device_monitoring.sh
+++ b/src/rtgs_lab_tools/device_monitoring/scheduled_device_monitoring.sh
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 #!/bin/bash
+export PYTHONUTF8=1	# ensure proper encoding so that this script can print emojis without error
 
 # Scheduled Device Monitoring Script for CRON
 # Based on .github/workflows/daily-device-monitoring.yml
@@ -148,4 +149,4 @@ deactivate
 log "Script completed with exit code $EXIT_CODE"
 
 # Exit with the same code as the monitoring command
-exit $EXIT_CODE
\ No newline at end of file
+exit $EXIT_CODE
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index 24a737d9..3d323cca 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -32,16 +32,14 @@ def mock_config():
 def temp_env_file():
     """Create temporary .env file for testing."""
     with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(mode="w", suffix=".env", delete=False) as f:
-        f.write(
-            """DB_HOST=test-host
+        f.write("""DB_HOST=test-host
 DB_PORT=5432
 DB_NAME=test_db
 DB_USER=test_user
 DB_PASSWORD=test_password
 PARTICLE_ACCESS_TOKEN=test_token
 CDS_API_KEY=test_cds_key
-"""
-        )
+""")
         temp_path = f.name
 
     yield temp_path