diff --git a/jjb/pipeline/voltha-scale-test.groovy b/jjb/pipeline/voltha-scale-test.groovy
index 4e33642..d2fdd6b 100644
--- a/jjb/pipeline/voltha-scale-test.groovy
+++ b/jjb/pipeline/voltha-scale-test.groovy
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
       timeout(time: 30, unit: 'MINUTES')
   }
   environment {
-    JENKINS_NODE_COOKIE=dontKillMe // do not kill processes after the build is done
+    JENKINS_NODE_COOKIE="dontKillMe" // do not kill processes after the build is done
     KUBECONFIG="$HOME/.kube/config"
     VOLTCONFIG="$HOME/.volt/config"
     SSHPASS="karaf"