diff --git a/utils/inference_runner/inference_runner.cpp b/utils/inference_runner/inference_runner.cpp
index 531bd4e..34fb07c 100644
--- a/utils/inference_runner/inference_runner.cpp
+++ b/utils/inference_runner/inference_runner.cpp
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
 namespace {
 int64_t defaultTimeout = 60000000000;
 
-void help(const string exe) {
+void help(const string &exe) {
     cerr << "Usage: " << exe << " [ARGS]\n";
     cerr << "\n";
     cerr << "Arguments:\n";
@@ -50,14 +50,14 @@
     cerr << endl;
 }
 
-void rangeCheck(const int i, const int argc, const string arg) {
+void rangeCheck(const int i, const int argc, const string &arg) {
     if (i >= argc) {
         cerr << "Error: Missing argument to '" << arg << "'" << endl;
         exit(1);
     }
 }
 
-pair<unique_ptr<unsigned char[]>, size_t> getNetworkData(const string filename) {
+pair<unique_ptr<unsigned char[]>, size_t> getNetworkData(const string &filename) {
     ifstream stream(filename, ios::binary);
     if (!stream.is_open()) {
         cerr << "Error: Failed to open '" << filename << "'" << endl;