diff --git a/checks/check_ansible_playbooks.sh b/checks/check_ansible_playbooks.sh
index 3886fd46..534b9bf2 100755
--- a/checks/check_ansible_playbooks.sh
+++ b/checks/check_ansible_playbooks.sh
@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@ else
     echo
     max_len=0
     for x in $filelist; do
-        if [ ${#x} -gt $max_len ]; then
-            max_len=${#x}
+        if [ "${#x}" -gt "$max_len" ]; then
+            max_len="${#x}"
         fi
     done
     # to account for the semi colon