diff --git a/src/engine/mbEnums.java b/src/engine/mbEnums.java
index b77bf902..11679641 100644
--- a/src/engine/mbEnums.java
+++ b/src/engine/mbEnums.java
@@ -55,6 +55,46 @@ public class mbEnums {
         return enumSet;
     }
 
+    public static <E extends java.lang.Enum<E>> EnumSet<E> fromString(String dbString, Class<E> enumClass) {
+
+        // Build enumset from ; delimited string (from db)
+
+        EnumSet<E> enumSet = EnumSet.noneOf(enumClass);
+
+        // Early exit if empty set
+
+        if (dbString.isEmpty())
+            return enumSet;
+
+        String[] enumArray = dbString.split(";");
+
+        for (String enumeration : enumArray) {
+            E parsedEnum = Enum.valueOf(enumClass, enumeration);
+            enumSet.add(parsedEnum);
+        }
+
+        return enumSet;
+    }
+
+
+    public static <E extends Enum<E>> String asString(EnumSet<E> enumSet) {
+
+        if (enumSet == null || enumSet.isEmpty())
+            return "";
+
+        StringBuilder result = new StringBuilder();
+
+        for (E element : enumSet)
+            result.append(element.name()).append(";");
+
+        // Remove the trailing comma
+
+        if (result.length() > 1)
+            result.setLength(result.length() - 1);
+
+        return result.toString();
+    }
+
     public enum PetitionType {
         NONE,
         GENERAL,