diff --git a/script/actions_utils/coverage_report_format.py b/script/actions_utils/coverage_report_format.py
index 443ea1f95..a0609b876 100755
--- a/script/actions_utils/coverage_report_format.py
+++ b/script/actions_utils/coverage_report_format.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ def main(args):
 
     diff_cover_content = None
 
-    with open(diff_cover_file_path, "r") as f:
+    with open(diff_cover_file_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
         diff_cover_content = f.readlines()
 
     with open(diff_cover_file_path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
diff --git a/script/nbmake_utils/notebook_sanitize.py b/script/nbmake_utils/notebook_sanitize.py
index 4dc48b6b7..c26ee33f5 100644
--- a/script/nbmake_utils/notebook_sanitize.py
+++ b/script/nbmake_utils/notebook_sanitize.py
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
+"""Sanitizer for Jupyter notebooks."""
 import argparse
 import json
 from pathlib import Path
 
 
 def main():
+    """Sanitize"""
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Sanitizer for Jupyter Notebooks")
 
     parser.add_argument("base", type=str, help="directory which contains the notebooks")
@@ -15,16 +17,16 @@ def main():
     notebooks = base.glob("*.ipynb")
 
     for notebook in notebooks:
-        with open(notebook, "r") as f:
+        with open(notebook, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             content = json.load(f)
 
         if args.check:
             if len(content["metadata"]) != 0:
                 print("Notebooks are not sanitized. Please run `make conformance`.")
-                exit(1)
+                raise ValueError
         else:
             content["metadata"] = {}
-            with open(notebook, "w", newline="\n") as f:
+            with open(notebook, "w", newline="\n", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 json.dump(content, f, indent=1, ensure_ascii=False)
                 f.write("\n")
 
diff --git a/script/progress_tracker_utils/extract_machine_info.py b/script/progress_tracker_utils/extract_machine_info.py
index ea05b8025..c8bd4e5df 100644
--- a/script/progress_tracker_utils/extract_machine_info.py
+++ b/script/progress_tracker_utils/extract_machine_info.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+"""Extract some info about the host machine."""
 import json
 import os
 import platform
@@ -9,6 +10,7 @@ import psutil
 
 
 def main():
+    """Extract some info about the host machine."""
     dotenv.load_dotenv()
 
     properties = []
@@ -43,7 +45,7 @@ def main():
     id_ = urllib.parse.quote_plus(id_)
 
     machine = {"id": id_, "name": name, "properties": properties}
-    with open(".benchmarks/machine.json", "w") as f:
+    with open(".benchmarks/machine.json", "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
         json.dump(machine, f, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)
 
 
diff --git a/script/progress_tracker_utils/measure.py b/script/progress_tracker_utils/measure.py
index e263f4a12..1b6116a13 100644
--- a/script/progress_tracker_utils/measure.py
+++ b/script/progress_tracker_utils/measure.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+"""Measurement script for the progress tracker"""
 import argparse
 import json
 import os
@@ -99,7 +100,7 @@ def identify_metrics(script, lines, metrics):
 def create_modified_script(script_without_extension, lines, metrics):
     """Create a modified version of the script which can be used to perform measurements"""
 
-    with open(f"{script_without_extension}.measure.py", "w") as f:
+    with open(f"{script_without_extension}.measure.py", "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
         # Import must-have libraries
         f.write("import json\n")
         f.write("import time\n")
@@ -181,6 +182,7 @@ def perform_measurements(script, script_without_extension, target_id, metrics, s
             process = subprocess.run(
                 ["python", f"{script_without_extension}.measure.py"],
                 capture_output=True,
+                check=True,
             )
 
             # Print sample information
@@ -203,7 +205,7 @@ def perform_measurements(script, script_without_extension, target_id, metrics, s
                 break
 
             # Read the measurements and delete the temporary file
-            with open(f"{script_without_extension}.measurements") as f:
+            with open(f"{script_without_extension}.measurements", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 results = json.load(f)
             os.unlink(f"{script_without_extension}.measurements")
 
@@ -237,6 +239,7 @@ def perform_measurements(script, script_without_extension, target_id, metrics, s
 
 
 def main():
+    """Measurement script for the progress tracker"""
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Measurement script for the progress tracker")
 
     parser.add_argument("base", type=str, help="directory which contains the benchmarks")
@@ -248,7 +251,7 @@ def main():
     base = pathlib.Path(args.base)
     samples = args.samples
 
-    with open(".benchmarks/machine.json", "r") as f:
+    with open(".benchmarks/machine.json", "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
         machine = json.load(f)
 
     result = {"machine": machine, "metrics": {}, "targets": {}}
@@ -257,7 +260,7 @@ def main():
     # Process each script under the base directory
     for script in filter(lambda script: not str(scripts[0]).endswith("measure.py"), scripts):
         # Read the script line by line
-        with open(script, "r") as f:
+        with open(script, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             lines = f.readlines()
 
         # Find the first non-empty line
@@ -309,7 +312,7 @@ def main():
         perform_measurements(script, script_without_extension, target_id, metrics, samples, result)
 
         # Dump the latest results to the output file
-        with open(".benchmarks/findings.json", "w") as f:
+        with open(".benchmarks/findings.json", "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             json.dump(result, f, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)
 
         # Delete the modified script if the user doesn't care