The ESRF is in operation since many years. Due to the aging vacuum system, but also driven by the development to increase the machine performances and the continuous upgrade of our vacuum installations we have been reviewing our philosophy of data acquisition and monitoring, while using new technologies and taking into account our gained operational experience. This helped us to anticipate machine failures such as leaks, overheating of RF-liners or poor chamber alignments and therefore reduce machine down times. This paper outlines our work on the development of a new vacuum user interface, which not simply reflects the actual status of our vacuum system, but which provides a dynamic survey of computed vacuum signals highlighting unusual vacuum behaviours and making their identification and location easier from an operator point of view. It also presents the use of Pb-shielded PLC units in the storage ring and their integration towards a dynamic remote control system.