diff --git a/jobs/pipelines/deploy-cicd-and-run-tests.groovy b/jobs/pipelines/deploy-cicd-and-run-tests.groovy
index b0b0121..56a2d9b 100644
--- a/jobs/pipelines/deploy-cicd-and-run-tests.groovy
+++ b/jobs/pipelines/deploy-cicd-and-run-tests.groovy
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 def steps = "hardware,create_model,salt," + env.DRIVETRAIN_STACK_INSTALL + "," + env.PLATFORM_STACK_INSTALL
 def env_manager = env.ENV_MANAGER ?: 'devops'
 def batch_size = env.BATCH_SIZE ?: ''
-def dist_upgrade_nodes = env.DIST_UPGRADE_NODES ?: false
+def dist_upgrade_nodes = "${env.DIST_UPGRADE_NODES}" != "false" ? true : false
 
 if (env_manager == 'devops') {
     jenkins_slave_node_name = "${NODE_NAME}"