diff --git a/gitlib/gitlib.py b/gitlib/gitlib.py
index 28a6989..34bfb5e 100755
--- a/gitlib/gitlib.py
+++ b/gitlib/gitlib.py
@@ -635,7 +635,7 @@ class OpengnsysGitLibrary:
 
     def _get_system_uuid(self):
         self.logger.debug("Obtaining system UUID...")
-        result = subprocess.run(["/usr/sbin/dmidecode", "-s", "system-uuid"], check=True, capture_output=True)
+        result = subprocess.run(["/usr/sbin/dmidecode", "-s", "system-uuid"], check=True, capture_output=True, encoding='utf-8')
         uuid = result.stdout.strip()
         self.logger.debug("UUID is %s", uuid)
         return uuid