Thousands of years of experience with such common tools has resulted in great variety of shovels and spades being developed to meet numerous particular needs. However, in North America, the term shovel tends to be used for both shovels and spades. When selecting the right shovel for the task, ergonomic considerations are essential. Reducing the weight of the shovel, which is unproductive weight, increases shovelling efficiency. There are two conflicting opinions regarding the length of a shovel.
Shorter lengths result in better efficiency when shovelling.
These two factors have to be carefully balanced when deciding which shovel to choose for the task. Spades used for digging holes or cutting turf are usually longer than shovels. The less dense the material, the larger the blade size. Use triangular or round blades with long handles for sand and dry earth. Use square blades with short handles for coarse-grained materials such as gravel, coal, or ore.