No. The prevention officer works for a specific company. The Health & Safety Coordinator articulates and coordinates all parties on the site to avoid risk interference between them; they don’t replace each company’s prevention officers, they coordinate them.

When more than one company, a company and self-employed workers, or several self-employed workers are involved on the site. If the project starts with a single company but later subcontracts another contractor or a freelancer, the developer is required to appoint the coordinator at that very moment.

The developer is the one who appoints the coordinator. The role can be performed by a professional with a qualifying degree —architect, technical architect (quantity surveyor), engineer or technical engineer, depending on the type of work— and usually with advanced training in occupational risk prevention.

The absence of a coordinator when mandatory exposes the developer to administrative liability (penalties), civil liability (compensation) and even criminal liability in the event of an accident with gross negligence. Appointing a sound professional protects both the people on site and the developer.