diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/operations/stage_protocol.c b/src/backend/distributed/operations/stage_protocol.c
index ac62eaedf..e9fbf0653 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/operations/stage_protocol.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/operations/stage_protocol.c
@@ -165,10 +165,11 @@ master_create_empty_shard(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	/* generate new and unique shardId from sequence */
 	uint64 shardId = GetNextShardId();
 
-	/* if enough live groups, add an extra candidate node as backup */
 	List *workerNodeList = AppendDistributedTablePlacementNodeList(NoLock);
+	int workerNodeListLength = list_length(workerNodeList);
 
-	if (list_length(workerNodeList) > ShardReplicationFactor)
+	/* if enough live groups, add an extra candidate node as backup */
+	if (workerNodeListLength > ShardReplicationFactor)
 	{
 		attemptableNodeCount = ShardReplicationFactor + 1;
 	}
@@ -177,6 +178,17 @@ master_create_empty_shard(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 		attemptableNodeCount = ShardReplicationFactor;
 	}
 
+	/* check if we are trying to create an empty placement on the coordinator */
+	if(workerNodeListLength + 1 == ShardReplicationFactor)
+	{
+		List *fullWorkerNodeList = DistributedTablePlacementNodeList(NoLock);
+		if(list_length(fullWorkerNodeList) == ShardReplicationFactor)
+		{
+			ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("Cannot create an empty placement on the coordinator."),
+							errhint("Reduce shard replication factor or add a worker node.")));
+		}
+	}
+
 	/* first retrieve a list of random nodes for shard placements */
 	while (candidateNodeIndex < attemptableNodeCount)
 	{
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/operations/worker_node_manager.c b/src/backend/distributed/operations/worker_node_manager.c
index 963a4fafa..cf31009c8 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/operations/worker_node_manager.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/operations/worker_node_manager.c
@@ -267,7 +267,8 @@ ClientHostAddress(StringInfo clientHostStringInfo)
 
 /*
  * WorkerGetNodeWithName finds and returns a node from the membership list that
- * has the given hostname. The function returns null if no such node exists.
+ * has the given hostname. The node cannot be the coordinator. 
+ * The function returns null if no such node exists.
  */
 static WorkerNode *
 WorkerGetNodeWithName(const char *hostname)
@@ -281,7 +282,7 @@ WorkerGetNodeWithName(const char *hostname)
 	while ((workerNode = hash_seq_search(&status)) != NULL)
 	{
 		int nameCompare = strncmp(workerNode->workerName, hostname, WORKER_LENGTH);
-		if (nameCompare == 0)
+		if (nameCompare == 0 && (workerNode->groupId != 0))
 		{
 			/* we need to terminate the scan since we break */
 			hash_seq_term(&status);
@@ -579,8 +580,8 @@ NodeIsReadableWorker(WorkerNode *node)
 
 /*
  * PrimaryNodesNotInList scans through the worker node hash and returns a list of all
- * primary nodes which are not in currentList. It runs in O(n*m) but currentList is
- * quite small.
+ * primary nodes which are not in currentList and are not the coordinator.
+ * It runs in O(n*m) but currentList is quite small.
  */
 static List *
 PrimaryNodesNotInList(List *currentList)
@@ -599,7 +600,7 @@ PrimaryNodesNotInList(List *currentList)
 			continue;
 		}
 
-		if (NodeIsPrimary(workerNode))
+		if (NodeIsPrimary(workerNode) && (workerNode->groupId != 0))
 		{
 			workerNodeList = lappend(workerNodeList, workerNode);
 		}