Because any interaction with the database is considered as a change, it is essential to minimise the number of database changes and the time differences between them. For an element that has been created in the base product we have to set at least the Modification date/Time, and the internal and external IDs prior to export. Following export, a SAVEWORK command is executed on the data, as soon as possible after the export, in order to minimise the time difference between the Modification date (the date/time at which the data was extracted from the element), and the time that field was locked on the database by a SAVEWORK. This introduces a time difference - a buffer - between values. The Modification date/time will be the LASTMOD value.