Debt (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended								12 Months Ended									12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2013	Jan. 31, 2011	Jan. 31, 2012	Jun. 27, 2011	Jan. 31, 2013 Carrying Amount [Member]	Jan. 31, 2012 Carrying Amount [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Estimated Fair Value [Member]	Jan. 31, 2012 Estimated Fair Value [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Private Placement with Mill Road Capital L.P., Interest-bearing [Member]		Jan. 31, 2012 Private Placement with Mill Road Capital L.P., Interest-bearing [Member]		Jun. 27, 2011 Private Placement with Mill Road Capital L.P., Interest-bearing [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Secured and Other Notes Payable [Member]		Jan. 31, 2012 Secured and Other Notes Payable [Member]		Jan. 31, 2013 Senior Credit Facility [Member]	Nov. 10, 2010 Senior Credit Facility [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Senior Credit Facility [Member] LIBOR [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Senior Credit Facility [Member] Comerica Bank's Prime Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Senior Credit Facility [Member] Minimum [Member] LIBOR [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Senior Credit Facility [Member] Minimum [Member] Comerica Bank's Prime Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Senior Credit Facility [Member] Maximum [Member] LIBOR [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Senior Credit Facility [Member] Maximum [Member] Comerica Bank's Prime Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Term Loan [Member]		Jan. 31, 2012 Term Loan [Member]		Nov. 10, 2010 Term Loan [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Term Loan [Member] Eurodollar Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Term Loan [Member] Base Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Term Loan [Member] Minimum [Member] Eurodollar Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Term Loan [Member] Minimum [Member] Base Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Term Loan [Member] Maximum [Member] Eurodollar Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Term Loan [Member] Maximum [Member] Base Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Revolving Credit Line [Member]		Jan. 31, 2012 Revolving Credit Line [Member]		Nov. 10, 2010 Revolving Credit Line [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Revolving Credit Line [Member] Eurodollar Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Revolving Credit Line [Member] Base Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Revolving Credit Line [Member] Minimum [Member] Eurodollar Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Revolving Credit Line [Member] Minimum [Member] Base Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Revolving Credit Line [Member] Maximum [Member] Eurodollar Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Revolving Credit Line [Member] Maximum [Member] Base Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Acquisition Line of Credit [Member]		Jan. 31, 2012 Acquisition Line of Credit [Member]		Nov. 10, 2010 Acquisition Line of Credit [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Acquisition Line of Credit [Member] Eurodollar Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Acquisition Line of Credit [Member] Base Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Acquisition Line of Credit [Member] Minimum [Member] Eurodollar Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Acquisition Line of Credit [Member] Minimum [Member] Base Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Acquisition Line of Credit [Member] Maximum [Member] Eurodollar Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Acquisition Line of Credit [Member] Maximum [Member] Base Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Acquisition Line of Credit, Non Machinery and Equipment Related [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Acquisition Line of Credit, Machinery and Equipment Related [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Secured and Other Notes Payable Equipment Line [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Secured and Other Notes Payable Equipment Line [Member] Minimum [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Secured and Other Notes Payable Equipment Line [Member] Maximum [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Secured and Other Notes Payable NQA [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Secured and Other Notes Payable NQA [Member] Federal Home Loan Bank Advance Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Secured and Other Notes Payable NQA [Member] Base Rate [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Secured and Other Notes Payable NQA [Member] Minimum [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Secured and Other Notes Payable NQA [Member] Maximum [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity																			$ 65,000,000											$ 20,000,000											$ 25,000,000											$ 20,000,000
Maturity date																		Nov. 10, 2015								Nov. 10, 2015											Nov. 10, 2015																						Nov. 10, 2015	Nov. 10, 2015
Description of variable rate basis																				LIBOR	prime rate										a rate based on LIBOR	the greatest of (a) the prime rate announced by Comerica Bank, (b) the federal funds effective rate as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York plus 1.0%, and (c) a daily adjusting LIBOR rate plus 1.0%										Eurodollar Rate	Base Rate										Eurodollar Rate	Base Rate											Federal Home Loan Bank Advance Rate	Corporate base rate
Basis spread on variable rate (in hundredths)																						1.75%	0.75%	2.75%	1.75%								2.00%	1.00%	2.75%	1.75%								1.75%	0.75%	2.50%	1.50%								2.00%	1.00%	2.75%	1.75%							3.00%	0.50%
Commitment fee (in hundredths)																																					0.25%											0.35%
Long-term debt																										14,300,000	[1]	17,150,000	[1]								8,500,000	[2]	5,000,000	[2]								18,447,000	[3]	16,251,000	[3]								16,715,000	1,732,000	4,884,000			837,000
Percentage of eligible accounts receivable as borrowing base (in hundredths)																																					85.00%
Current borrowing capacity																																					19,264,000
Available borrowing capacity																																					10,764,000
Interest rate at period end (in hundredths)																										2.71%											2.46%											2.71%
Term of note		5 years							5 years																	5 years																																			60 months						3 years	5 years
Interest rates (in hundredths)																																																														0.00%	7.42%
Ownership percentage (in hundredths)																																																																50.00%
Periodic payment																										500,000
Quarterly principal payment as a percentage of principal balance during first year (in hundredths)																																																0.00%
Quarterly principal payment as a percentage of principal balance during second year (in hundredths)																																																1.25%
Quarterly principal payment as a percentage of principal balance during third year (in hundredths)																																																2.50%
Quarterly principal payment as a percentage of principal balance during fourth year (in hundredths)																																																3.75%
Quarterly principal payment as a percentage of principal balance during fifth year (in hundredths)																																																3.75%
Quarterly principal payment on advances for eligible machinery and equipment as a percentage of aggregate principal amount of advance (in hundredths)																																																												5.00%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Proceeds from private placement of debt and equity	14,000,000	14,000,000							7,000,000
Term of note		5 years							5 years																	5 years																																			60 months						3 years	5 years
Face amount				7,000,000									7,000,000
Estimated fair value of debt													5,960,000
Maturity date									Jun. 27, 2016
Total long-term debt	53,951,000		50,188,000						6,983,000	[4]	6,337,000	[4]		5,721,000	[5]	5,450,000	[5]
Less current installments	5,572,000		4,478,000
Total	48,379,000		45,710,000
Debt											7,587,000
Derivative liabilities									61,000
Debt discount				1,040,000					665,000
Interest rate, stated percentage (in hundredths)				15.00%					10.00%
Additional interest rate accrual percentage (in hundredths)									5.00%
Deferred finance costs, net	1,009,000
Maturities of Long-term Debt for Five Fiscal Years [Abstract]
2014	5,572,000
2015	6,413,000
2016	34,206,000
2017	7,595,000
2018	165,000
Total long-term debt	53,951,000		50,188,000						6,983,000	[4]	6,337,000	[4]		5,721,000	[5]	5,450,000	[5]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Secured and other notes payable					45,451,000	45,188,000	45,309,000	45,084,000
Revolving lines of credit					$ 8,500,000	$ 5,000,000	$ 8,500,000	$ 5,000,000

[1] The Company is required to repay the $20 million five-year term loan in equal quarterly principal installments of $500,000 commencing on February 1, 2011 until November 10, 2015, the maturity date, when all remaining outstanding principal plus accrued interest thereon is due and payable in full. Interest accrues at a specified margin plus either: (i) the greatest of (a) the prime rate announced by Comerica Bank, (b) the federal funds effective rate as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York plus 1.0%, and (c) a daily adjusting LIBOR rate plus 1.0%; or (ii) a rate based on LIBOR. The Company refers to the rates described in clauses (i) and (ii) in the preceding sentence, respectively, as the "Base Rate" and as the "Eurodollar Rate." The specific per annum interest rate will be, at the Company's option, either (I) the Base Rate plus a specified margin ranging between 100 and 175 basis points depending on the Company's consolidated total debt to consolidated EBITDA ratio or (II) the Eurodollar Rate plus a specified margin ranging between 200 and 275 basis points depending on the company's consolidated total debt to consolidated EBITDA ratio. In the case of interest that is based on the Base Rate, interest is payable monthly in arrears on the first day of each month. In the case of interest that is based on the Eurodollar Rate, interest is payable at the end of each interest period, which is defined as one, two, three or six months after the applicable loan is disbursed to the Company (except that with respect to six month interest periods, interest is payable at three month intervals). Excess cash flow payments as required under the credit agreement are applied to the term loan. The outstanding balance from term loans at January 31, 2013 was $14,300,000. The interest rate applicable at January 31, 2013 was 2.71%.

[2] The Company is required to repay the outstanding principal under the revolving credit line on November 10, 2015. Interest accrues at the Company's option at either (i) the Base Rate plus a specified margin ranging between 75 and 150 basis points depending on the Company's consolidated total debt to consolidated EBITDA ratio or (ii) the Eurodollar Rate plus a specified margin ranging between 175 and 250 basis points depending on the Company's consolidated total debt to consolidated EBITDA ratio. In the case of interest that is based on the Base Rate, interest is payable monthly in arrears on the first day of each month. In the case of interest that is based on the Eurodollar Rate, interest is payable at the end of each interest period, which is defined as one, two, three or six months after the applicable advance is disbursed to the Company (except that with respect to six month interest periods, interest is payable at three month intervals). The outstanding balance from revolving credit lines at January 31, 2013 was $8,500,000. The revolving credit line is limited to 85% of eligible accounts receivable, which equates to $19,264,000 as of January 31, 2013. The available amount on the revolving credit line was $10,764,000 as of January 31, 2013. The interest rate applicable at January 31, 2013 was 2.46%.

[3] With respect to any credit advance under this line that is used to finance eligible acquisitions, the Company is required to make quarterly principal payments commencing one year after the date such credit advance is made, until November 10, 2015, the maturity date (when all remaining outstanding principal plus accrued interest thereon is due and payable in full). No principal payments are due during the first year. The amount of such quarterly principal payments is 1.25% of the aggregate original principal amount of such credit advance during the second year, increasing to 2.50% during the third year and increasing to 3.75% during the fourth and fifth years. The interest rate applicable at January 31, 2013 was 2.71%. Interest on the acquisition credit line accrues at the Company's option at either (i) the Base Rate plus a specified margin ranging between 100 and 175 basis points depending on the Company's consolidated total debt to consolidated EBITDA ratio or (ii) the Eurodollar Rate plus a specified margin ranging between 200 and 275 basis points depending on the Company's consolidated total debt to consolidated EBITDA ratio. In the case of interest that is based on the Base Rate, interest is payable monthly in arrears on the first day of each month following the disbursement of an advance. In the case of interest that is based on the Eurodollar Rate, interest is payable at the end of each interest period, which is defined as one, two, three or six months after the applicable advance is disbursed to us (except that with respect to six month interest periods, interest is payable at three month intervals). The outstanding balance from acquisitions at January 31, 2013 was $16,715,000. With respect to any credit advance under this line that is used to finance the purchase of eligible machinery and equipment, the Company is required to make principal payments in an amount equal to 5% of the aggregate original principal amount of such credit advance. Such principal payments are due quarterly after the date such credit advance is made, until November 10, 2015, the maturity date (when all remaining outstanding principal plus accrued interest thereon is due and payable in full). The outstanding balance from equipment credit advances at January 31, 2013 was $1,732,000.

[4] The Mill Road outstanding balance at January 31, 2013 of $6,983,000 was calculated based on the fair value of the debt. The balance consists of $7,587,000 in debt and $61,000 in derivative liability partially offset by $665,000 in debt discount. The outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest is due and payable on June 27, 2016. Interest accrues at a rate of 10.0% per annum and is payable quarterly. In addition, interest also accrues at a rate of 5.0% per annum, which amount is added automatically to the unpaid principal amount of the subordinated note on each date cash interest is payable.

[5] In addition to the senior credit facility, the Company has an additional $4,884,000 at January 31, 2013 in equipment line balances which were used to finance various test equipment with terms of 60 months for each equipment schedule at interest rates ranging from 0.00% to 7.42%.