Contingencies	6 Months Ended
Jul. 31, 2016
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Contingencies	11. Contingencies Our drilling activities involve certain operating hazards that can result in personal injury or loss of life, damage and destruction of property and equipment, damage to the surrounding areas, release of hazardous substances or wastes and other damage to the environment, interruption or suspension of drill site operations and loss of revenues and future business. The magnitude of these operating risks is amplified when we, as is frequently the case, conduct a project on a fixed-price, bundled basis where we delegate certain functions to subcontractors but remain responsible to the customer for the subcontracted work. In addition, we are exposed to potential liability under foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations, contractual indemnification agreements or otherwise in connection with our services and products. Litigation arising from any such occurrences may result in Layne being named as a defendant in lawsuits asserting large claims. Although we maintain insurance protection that we consider economically prudent, there can be no assurance that any such insurance will be sufficient or effective under all circumstances or against all claims or hazards to which we may be subject or that we will be able to continue to obtain such insurance protection. A successful claim or damage resulting from a hazard for which we are not fully insured could have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, we do not maintain political risk insurance with respect to our foreign operations. We are involved in various other matters of litigation, claims and disputes which have arisen in the ordinary course of business. Some of our contracts contain provisions that require us to pay liquidated damages if we are responsible for the failure to meet specified contractual milestone dates and the applicable customer asserts a claim under those provisions. Those contracts define the conditions under which our customers may make claims against us for liquidated damages. In many cases where we had potential exposure for liquidated damages, such damages ultimately were not asserted by our customers. We believe that the ultimate disposition of these matters will not, individually and in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect upon our business or consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. However, it is possible, that future results of operations for any particular quarterly or annual period could be materially affected by changes in the assumptions related to these proceedings. In accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, we record a liability when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. These provisions are reviewed at least quarterly and adjusted to reflect the impacts of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel, and other information and events pertaining to a particular case. To the extent additional information arises or the strategies change, it is possible that our estimate of the probable liability in these matters may change.

11. Contingencies

Our drilling activities involve certain operating hazards that can result in personal injury or loss of life, damage and destruction of property and equipment, damage to the surrounding areas, release of hazardous substances or wastes and other damage to the environment, interruption or suspension of drill site operations and loss of revenues and future business. The magnitude of these operating risks is amplified when we, as is frequently the case, conduct a project on a fixed-price, bundled basis where we delegate certain functions to subcontractors but remain responsible to the customer for the subcontracted work. In addition, we are exposed to potential liability under foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations, contractual indemnification agreements or otherwise in connection with our services and products. Litigation arising from any such occurrences may result in Layne being named as a defendant in lawsuits asserting large claims. Although we maintain insurance protection that we consider economically prudent, there can be no assurance that any such insurance will be sufficient or effective under all circumstances or against all claims or hazards to which we may be subject or that we will be able to continue to obtain such insurance protection. A successful claim or damage resulting from a hazard for which we are not fully insured could have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, we do not maintain political risk insurance with respect to our foreign operations.

We are involved in various other matters of litigation, claims and disputes which have arisen in the ordinary course of business. Some of our contracts contain provisions that require us to pay liquidated damages if we are responsible for the failure to meet specified contractual milestone dates and the applicable customer asserts a claim under those provisions. Those contracts define the conditions under which our customers may make claims against us for liquidated damages. In many cases where we had potential exposure for liquidated damages, such damages ultimately were not asserted by our customers. We believe that the ultimate disposition of these matters will not, individually and in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect upon our business or consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. However, it is possible, that future results of operations for any particular quarterly or annual period could be materially affected by changes in the assumptions related to these proceedings. In accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, we record a liability when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. These provisions are reviewed at least quarterly and adjusted to reflect the impacts of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel, and other information and events pertaining to a particular case. To the extent additional information arises or the strategies change, it is possible that our estimate of the probable liability in these matters may change.