diff --git a/doc/contributors_guide/tips_and_tricks.md b/doc/contributors_guide/tips_and_tricks.md
index bec06f1f6..2ff1daa80 100644
--- a/doc/contributors_guide/tips_and_tricks.md
+++ b/doc/contributors_guide/tips_and_tricks.md
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ This can be done as follows:
        python -m venv ~/.envs/testenv
        source ~/.envs/testenv/bin/activate
        pip install -U pip
-       pip install wheel -r requirements.txt
+       pip install requirements_dev.txt
 
 2. Build the wheel
 
diff --git a/python/setup.py b/python/setup.py
index b3fe6892e..875f4ed3d 100644
--- a/python/setup.py
+++ b/python/setup.py
@@ -13,8 +13,6 @@
 from setuptools.command.build_ext import build_ext
 from setuptools.command.install import install
 
-import numpy as np
-
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from typing import Union
 
@@ -25,10 +23,10 @@
 SETUP_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent
 SOURCE_DIR = SETUP_DIR.parent
 
-# Set platform-specific CMAKE_ARGS
 if platform.system() == "Linux":
     dlite_compiled_ext = "_dlite.so"
     dlite_compiled_dll_suffix = "*.so"
+
     CMAKE_ARGS = [
         "-DWITH_DOC=OFF",
         "-DWITH_HDF5=OFF",
@@ -47,11 +45,12 @@
                 f"{site.USER_BASE if '--user' in sys.argv else sys.prefix}",
             ]
         )
+
+
 elif platform.system() == "Windows":
     dlite_compiled_ext = "_dlite.pyd"
     dlite_compiled_dll_suffix = "*.dll"
     is_64bits = sys.maxsize > 2**32
-    arch = 'x64' if is_64bits else 'x86'
     v = sys.version_info
     CMAKE_ARGS = [
         #"-G", "Visual Studio 15 2017",
@@ -60,9 +59,10 @@
         "-DWITH_HDF5=OFF",
         f"-DPYTHON_VERSION={v.major}.{v.minor}",
         "-Ddlite_PYTHON_BUILD_REDISTRIBUTABLE_PACKAGE=YES",
-        f"-DCMAKE_VS_PLATFORM_TOOLSET_HOST_ARCHITECTURE={arch}",
+        f"-DCMAKE_VS_PLATFORM_TOOLSET_HOST_ARCHITECTURE={'x64' if is_64bits else 'x86'}",
         "-DPython3_FIND_VIRTUALENV=STANDARD",
     ]
+
 else:
     raise NotImplementedError(f"Unsupported platform: {platform.system()}")
 
@@ -125,50 +125,43 @@ def build_extension(self, ext: CMakeExtension) -> None:
             self.get_ext_fullpath(ext.name)))
 
         environment_cmake_args = os.getenv("CI_BUILD_CMAKE_ARGS", "")
-        environment_cmake_args = (
-            environment_cmake_args.split(",") if environment_cmake_args else []
-        )
-
-        # Remove old CMakeCache if it exists in build directory
-        cachefile = Path(self.build_temp) / "CMakeCache.txt"
-        if cachefile.exists():
-            cachefile.unlink()
-
-        # Find cmake executable (using os.path for Python 3.7 compatibility)
-        stem, fileext = os.path.splitext(sys.executable)
-        cmake_exe = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(stem), "cmake" + fileext)
-        if "CMAKE_EXECUTABLE" in os.environ:
-            cmake_exe = os.environ["CMAKE_EXECUTABLE"]
-        elif not os.path.exists(cmake_exe):
-            cmake_exe = shutil.which("cmake" + fileext)
+        environment_cmake_args = environment_cmake_args.split(",") if environment_cmake_args else []
 
         build_type = "Debug" if self.debug else "Release"
         cmake_args = [
-            cmake_exe,
-            str(ext.sourcedir),
+            "cmake",
             f"-DCMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES:STRING={build_type}",
-            f"-DPython3_NumPy_INCLUDE_DIRS={np.get_include()}",
+            str(ext.sourcedir),
         ]
         cmake_args.extend(CMAKE_ARGS)
         cmake_args.extend(environment_cmake_args)
 
         env = os.environ.copy()
 
-        subprocess.run(
-            cmake_args,
-            cwd=self.build_temp,
-            env=env,
-            #capture_output=True,
-            check=True,
-        )
-
-        subprocess.run(
-            ["cmake", "--build", ".", "--config", build_type, "--verbose"],
-            cwd=self.build_temp,
-            env=env,
-            #capture_output=True,
-            check=True,
-        )
+        try:
+            subprocess.run(
+                cmake_args,
+                cwd=self.build_temp,
+                env=env,
+                capture_output=True,
+                check=True,
+            )
+        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
+            print("stdout:", e.stdout.decode("utf-8"), "\n\nstderr:",
+                  e.stderr.decode("utf-8"))
+            raise
+        try:
+            subprocess.run(
+                ["cmake", "--build", ".", "--config", build_type, "--verbose"],
+                cwd=self.build_temp,
+                env=env,
+                capture_output=True,
+                check=True,
+            )
+        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
+            print("stdout:", e.stdout.decode("utf-8"), "\n\nstderr:",
+                  e.stderr.decode("utf-8"))
+            raise
 
         cmake_bdist_dir = Path(self.build_temp) / Path(ext.python_package_dir)
         shutil.copytree(