diff --git a/src/vt/collective/scatter/scatter.impl.h b/src/vt/collective/scatter/scatter.impl.h
index 7141c2f918..21c9ffd14d 100644
--- a/src/vt/collective/scatter/scatter.impl.h
+++ b/src/vt/collective/scatter/scatter.impl.h
@@ -59,9 +59,9 @@ void Scatter::scatter(
   std::size_t const& total_size, std::size_t const& max_proc_size,
   FuncSizeType size_fn, FuncDataType data_fn
 ) {
-  auto const& num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
-  auto const& elm_size = max_proc_size;
-  auto const& combined_size = num_nodes * elm_size;
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const elm_size = max_proc_size;
+  auto const combined_size = static_cast<size_t>(num_nodes * elm_size);
   auto scatter_msg =
     makeMessageSz<ScatterMsg>(combined_size, combined_size, elm_size);
   vtAssert(total_size == combined_size, "Sizes must be consistent");
diff --git a/src/vt/group/region/group_range.cc b/src/vt/group/region/group_range.cc
index 906c982597..8c83f27000 100644
--- a/src/vt/group/region/group_range.cc
+++ b/src/vt/group/region/group_range.cc
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ Range::Range(Range const& in_other, BoundType in_remove_extent)
   for (auto split = 0; split < num_splits; split++) {
     auto const& child_size = size / num_splits;
     auto hi_bound = split == num_splits - 1 ?
-      hi_ : std::min(static_cast<int>(hi_), cur_lo + child_size*stride_);
+      hi_ : std::min(hi_, cur_lo + child_size*stride_);
     auto r1 = std::make_unique<Range>(cur_lo, BoundType{hi_bound}, stride_);
     apply(std::move(r1));
     cur_lo += BoundType{child_size*stride_};
diff --git a/src/vt/utils/strong/strong_type.h b/src/vt/utils/strong/strong_type.h
index 42ed57df72..f1a0d11626 100644
--- a/src/vt/utils/strong/strong_type.h
+++ b/src/vt/utils/strong/strong_type.h
@@ -205,6 +205,89 @@ struct Strong {
     return ThisType{v_ / in.v_};
   }
 
+  /**
+   * \brief Addition assignment operator
+   *
+   * \param[in] in the other value
+   */
+  template <typename OtherType>
+  ThisType& operator+=(const OtherType& in) {
+    v_ += static_cast<Type>(in);
+    return *this;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * \brief Division assignment operator
+   *
+   * \param[in] in the other value
+   */
+  template <typename OtherType>
+  ThisType& operator/=(const OtherType& in) {
+    v_ /= static_cast<Type>(in);
+    return *this;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * \brief Multiplication assignment operator
+   *
+   * \param[in] in the other value
+   */
+  template <typename OtherType>
+  ThisType& operator*=(const OtherType& in) {
+    v_ *= static_cast<Type>(in);
+    return *this;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * \brief Addition operator
+   *
+   * \param[in] in the other value
+   */
+  template <typename OtherType>
+  ThisType operator+(const OtherType& in) const {
+    return ThisType{v_ + static_cast<Type>(in)};
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * \brief Subtraction operator
+   *
+   * \param[in] in the other value
+   */
+  template <typename OtherType>
+  ThisType operator-(const OtherType& in) const {
+    return ThisType{v_ - static_cast<Type>(in)};
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * \brief Modulo operator
+   *
+   * \param[in] in the other value
+   */
+  template <typename OtherType>
+  ThisType operator%(const OtherType& in) const {
+    return ThisType{v_ % static_cast<Type>(in)};
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * \brief Multiplication operator
+   *
+   * \param[in] in the other value
+   */
+  template <typename OtherType>
+  ThisType operator*(const OtherType& in) const {
+    return ThisType{v_ * static_cast<Type>(in)};
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * \brief Division operator
+   *
+   * \param[in] in the other value
+   */
+  template <typename OtherType>
+  ThisType operator/(const OtherType& in) const {
+    return ThisType{v_ / static_cast<Type>(in)};
+  }
+
   /**
    * \brief Pre-increment operator
    */
diff --git a/tests/unit/collection/test_destroy.cc b/tests/unit/collection/test_destroy.cc
index e85aab5ccc..d6a77f2b54 100644
--- a/tests/unit/collection/test_destroy.cc
+++ b/tests/unit/collection/test_destroy.cc
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ static constexpr int32_t const num_elms_per_node = 8;
 
 TEST_F(TestDestroy, test_destroy_1) {
   auto const& this_node = theContext()->getNode();
-  auto const& num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const& num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
 
   vt::runInEpochCollective([&]{
     if (this_node == vt::NodeT{0}) {
diff --git a/tests/unit/collection/test_insert.extended.cc b/tests/unit/collection/test_insert.extended.cc
index a2ba2fac25..78c52fc379 100644
--- a/tests/unit/collection/test_insert.extended.cc
+++ b/tests/unit/collection/test_insert.extended.cc
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ static constexpr int32_t const num_elms_per_node = 8;
 
 TEST_F(TestInsert, test_insert_dense_1) {
   auto const this_node = theContext()->getNode();
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
 
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
   auto proxy = vt::makeCollection<InsertTest>("test_insert_dense_1")
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ TEST_F(TestInsert, test_insert_dense_1) {
 
 TEST_F(TestInsert, test_insert_sparse_1) {
   auto const this_node = theContext()->getNode();
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
 
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node * 16);
   auto proxy = vt::makeCollection<InsertTest>("test_insert_sparse_1")
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ TEST_F(TestInsert, test_insert_sparse_1) {
 
 TEST_F(TestInsert, test_insert_dense_node_1) {
   auto const this_node = theContext()->getNode();
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
 
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
   auto proxy = vt::makeCollection<InsertTest>("test_insert_dense_node_1")
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ TEST_F(TestInsert, test_insert_dense_node_1) {
 
 TEST_F(TestInsert, test_insert_sparse_node_1) {
   auto const this_node = theContext()->getNode();
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
 
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node * 16);
   auto proxy = vt::makeCollection<InsertTest>("test_insert_sparse_node_1")
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ TEST_F(TestInsert, test_insert_sparse_node_1) {
 
 TEST_F(TestInsert, test_insert_send_dense_node_1) {
   auto const this_node = theContext()->getNode();
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
 
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
   auto proxy = vt::makeCollection<InsertTest>("test_insert_send_dense_node_1")
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ TEST_F(TestInsert, test_insert_send_dense_node_1) {
 
 TEST_F(TestInsert, test_insert_send_sparse_node_1) {
   auto const this_node = theContext()->getNode();
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
 
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node * 16);
   auto proxy = vt::makeCollection<InsertTest>("test_insert_send_sparse_node_1")
diff --git a/tests/unit/collection/test_lb.extended.cc b/tests/unit/collection/test_lb.extended.cc
index 8fbb665c6e..21b18f8091 100644
--- a/tests/unit/collection/test_lb.extended.cc
+++ b/tests/unit/collection/test_lb.extended.cc
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ struct MyCol2 : vt::Collection<MyCol2,vt::Index1D> {};
 using TestLoadBalancerNoWork = TestParallelHarness;
 
 TEST_F(TestLoadBalancerNoWork, test_load_balancer_no_work) {
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * 8);
   theCollection()->constructCollective<MyCol2>(
     range, [](vt::Index1D) { return std::make_unique<MyCol2>(); },
@@ -705,8 +705,8 @@ getJsonStringForPhase(
 TEST_P(TestDumpUserdefinedData, test_dump_userdefined_json) {
   bool should_dump = GetParam();
 
-  auto this_node = vt::theContext()->getNode();
-  auto num_nodes = vt::theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto this_node = vt::theContext()->getNode().get();
+  auto num_nodes = vt::theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
 
   vt::vrt::collection::CollectionProxy<MyCol> proxy;
   auto const range = vt::Index1D(num_nodes * 1);
diff --git a/tests/unit/collection/test_list_insert.cc b/tests/unit/collection/test_list_insert.cc
index 263d169d5d..f0398d28c7 100644
--- a/tests/unit/collection/test_list_insert.cc
+++ b/tests/unit/collection/test_list_insert.cc
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ TEST_F(TestListInsert, test_bounded_list_insert_1) {
   num_inserted = 0;
   num_work = 0;
 
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
 
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
   std::vector<Index1D> list_insert;
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ TEST_F(TestListInsert, test_bounded_list_insert_no_default_constructor) {
   num_inserted = 0;
   num_work = 0;
 
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
 
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
   std::vector<Index1D> list_insert;
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ TEST_F(TestListInsert, test_unbounded_list_insert_2) {
   num_inserted = 0;
   num_work = 0;
 
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
 
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
   std::vector<Index1D> list_insert;
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ TEST_F(TestListInsert, test_unbounded_list_insert_no_default_constructor) {
   num_inserted = 0;
   num_work = 0;
 
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
 
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
   std::vector<Index1D> list_insert;
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ TEST_F(TestListInsert, test_bounded_list_insert_here_3) {
   num_inserted = 0;
   num_work = 0;
 
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
   auto const this_node = theContext()->getNode();
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
 
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ TEST_F(TestListInsert, test_bounded_list_insert_here_no_default_constructor) {
   num_inserted = 0;
   num_work = 0;
 
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
   auto const this_node = theContext()->getNode();
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
 
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ TEST_F(TestListInsert, test_unbounded_list_insert_here_4) {
   num_inserted = 0;
   num_work = 0;
 
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
   auto const this_node = theContext()->getNode();
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
 
@@ -348,7 +348,7 @@ TEST_F(TestListInsert, test_unbounded_list_insert_here_no_default_constructor) {
   num_inserted = 0;
   num_work = 0;
 
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
   auto const this_node = theContext()->getNode();
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
 
@@ -426,7 +426,7 @@ TEST_F(TestListInsert, test_bounded_bulk_insert_no_default_constructor) {
   num_inserted = 0;
   num_work = 0;
 
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
 
   auto proxy = vt::makeCollection<NonDefaultConstructibleStruct>("test_bounded_bulk_insert_no_default_constructor")
@@ -450,7 +450,7 @@ TEST_F(TestListInsert, test_bounded_mix_list_insert_no_default_constructor) {
   num_inserted = 0;
   num_work = 0;
 
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
   auto const this_node = theContext()->getNode();
   auto const range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/collection/test_mapping.cc b/tests/unit/collection/test_mapping.cc
index 07d6bdad5c..b223608bf8 100644
--- a/tests/unit/collection/test_mapping.cc
+++ b/tests/unit/collection/test_mapping.cc
@@ -100,20 +100,20 @@ std::vector<T> kFactors(T n, int8_t k) {
   T const orig_n = n;
   std::vector<T> factors;
   while (n % 2 == 0) {
-    factors.push_back(2);
+    factors.push_back(T{2});
     n /= 2;
   }
-  for (T i = 3; i*i <= n; i += 2) {
+  for (T i = T{3}; i*i <= n; i += 2) {
     while (n % i == 0) {
-      factors.push_back(i);
+      factors.push_back(T{i});
       n /= i;
     }
   }
   if (n > 2) {
-    factors.push_back(n);
+    factors.push_back(T{n});
   }
   while (factors.size() < static_cast<std::size_t>(k)) {
-    factors.push_back(1);
+    factors.push_back(T{1});
   }
 
   std::vector<T> output = factors;
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ std::vector<T> kFactors(T n, int8_t k) {
     output = compressed;
   }
 
-  T total = 1;
+  T total = T{1};
   std::string buf = "";
   for (auto&& elm : output) {
     buf += fmt::format("{}, ", elm);
diff --git a/tests/unit/collection/test_query_context.cc b/tests/unit/collection/test_query_context.cc
index ef12bcb060..d9b03251b6 100644
--- a/tests/unit/collection/test_query_context.cc
+++ b/tests/unit/collection/test_query_context.cc
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ TEST_F(TestQueryContext, test_query_context_broadcast_1) {
   auto const& this_node = theContext()->getNode();
   auto const& num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
   if (this_node == vt::NodeT{0}) {
-    auto const& range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
+    auto const& range = Index1D(num_nodes.get() * num_elms_per_node);
     auto proxy = theCollection()->construct<QueryTest>(
       range, "test_query_context_broadcast_1"
     );
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ TEST_F(TestQueryContext, test_query_context_broadcast_1) {
 
 TEST_F(TestQueryContext, test_query_context_send_1) {
   auto const& this_node = theContext()->getNode();
-  auto const& num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const& num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
   if (this_node == vt::NodeT{0}) {
     auto const& range = Index1D(num_nodes * num_elms_per_node);
     auto proxy = theCollection()->construct<QueryTest>(
diff --git a/tests/unit/collection/test_storage.cc b/tests/unit/collection/test_storage.cc
index b707501b5c..d6de5716b4 100644
--- a/tests/unit/collection/test_storage.cc
+++ b/tests/unit/collection/test_storage.cc
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ struct TestCollectionStorage : TestParallelHarness {
 };
 
 TEST_F(TestCollectionStorage, test_collection_storage_1) {
-  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes();
+  auto const num_nodes = theContext()->getNumNodes().get();
   auto const num_elms = Index1D{num_nodes*16};
 
   using MsgType = typename TestCol::TestMsg;